Dragon Soul
by EchowolfS
Summary: Dreaming of dragons is cool and all, but waking up one day after such a dream, Bloom can now understand them and their ancient alphabet. When a civil war on Eraklyon has people trying to kidnap her to blackmail Sky, Bloom seeks out the mysterious silver dragon that visits her in her dreams. Will she be able to find it and avoid the rebels?
1. The Dream

The dream

I woke up in a field of long green grass. A soft wind made the field look like an endless ocean of green rippling waves. I stood up slowly and looked around. Nothing as far as the eye could see. It was strange, I had no idea where I was, but I felt at peace. I looked up, soft white clouds lazily crossed the blue sky while she sun shone brightly. I should probably try to find out where I am, but I didn't feel the need to. There was no need to rush at all. I walked slowly through the field, reaching my arms out to feel the soft blades of grass.

Suddenly a large shadow passed over me. I looked up slowly and saw a massive dragon circling lazily above me. It circled around and landed just in front of me. She was massive. She had beautiful silver scales with light blue markings across her body and face. She had one set of wings, but they divided into two just below her thumbs. She was not like any normal dragon, which normally had a rugged, intimidating appearance, with an impressive set of horns to back it, but her appearance was smooth and visually appealing, and instead of horns, she had large antlers.

She approached me slowly, and instead of running like any normal person would, I stayed still, hypnotized by her shining cerulean blue eyes. Her nose stopped less than an arm's length away. She was so calm, and her eyes so inviting, so I reached out and lightly placed my hand on her snout. I have touched a dragon before, but she was different. Dragon scales can be anywhere from rough and rugged, to smooth and similar to a snakes skin, but her nose was almost like velvet.

_"I am waiting for you. We are all waiting for you.."_ An ancient voice that sounded like silk spoke in my head.

"Who is waiting for me?" I asked aloud.

_"We are."_

I opened my eyes slowly. At first I didn't know where I was. Then I remembered I was in my dorm at Alfea, the college for fairies. I felt something pull at my hair and saw my blue rabbit Kiko trying to get my attention.

"Morning Bloom, Still half asleep?" my roommate Flora asked.

"Yeah, I had a great dream." I said with a sigh, sad that it was over. "I wish I didn't have to wake up and go to class."

"You and me both!" Stella grumbled walking into my room. "I need my beauty sleep, and school work is not helping that."

"Then get to bed earlier, rather than staying up till two in the morning designing clothes." Flora chuckled. "and before you ask, yes, you woke me up when you tripped."

"Come on girls, we are going to be late!" Tecna yelled from the other room.

I got up, took a quick shower, got dressed, and headed out to class.

_I wonder what she meant about her waiting for me, and who is 'we'?_ I could hardly focus at all during any of my classes. I couldn't stop thinking back to my dream and the dragon. I managed to make it through most of my classes, until I got to my sister's class.

"Bloom, is something wrong?" Daphne asked, dragging me from my thoughts.

"No, no its nothing." I replied, suddenly aware of the stares from the rest of the class.

She gave me a look that said 'you will be telling me what's wrong after class', but nothing is wrong. I just can't seem to pay attention.

I managed to focus a little through the rest of the class period, but just as I was about to walk out of the door, Daphne pulled me back.

"Okay, what's with you?"

"Really, it's nothing. I'm just kind of out of it today."

"Then what is this?" Daphne took my notebook out of my hand, opened it to the notes we took today, and pointed at something in the margins. I apparently doodled a circle with a line going completely through it, another line that only went half way through it, a smaller circle with a dot in the middle inside the first circle, and completely surrounded with small squiggly lines.

"I don't remember doing that, but it's just a doodle." Daphne looked at me with a serious expression.

"No, it's not just a doodle, this is a symbol in the draconic alphabet. How do you know this?"

"I don't know, I don't even remember doing it. It's probably just a stupid coincidence." I said.

How do I know this? I wonder what it means. I looked at the symbol again and a single word formed in my head. Sun. I blinked, and looked at it again. _Sun, this means sun._ It was so strange how the word just popped into my head.

"Bloom, you're doing it again." Daphne sounded a bit irritated.

"Sorry, I was just-" suddenly Griselda walked into the class room.

"Bloom, there you are, Miss Faragonda would like to see you in her office." She said. I looked to Daphne, and she shrugged her shoulders.

I followed Griselda to the headmistress's office. She opened the door for me and I walked in to see Miss Faragonda standing near the window, looking at some papers. She looked up as I stepped into the room

"Bloom, thank you for coming. There is something I would like to ask you." She said sitting down. I sat in a chair in front of her desk.

"What do you want to ask me?" I asked as she pushed some papers towards me. I recognized them as my class work from today.

"Can you tell me what these are?" she pointed to some doodles on the papers. I froze, each doodle was similar to the symbol I drew in Daphne's class. I picked up the papers and inspected them more closely, and just as the word sun popped into my head the first time, others began to form as I looked them over. Field, grass, clouds, sky, and dragon. Wait a moment, these words… all of these things were in my dream. I woke up in a_ field_ with tall _grass_. I looked up at the _sky_ and saw the_ sun_ and lots of_ clouds_, and then at the end I met a _dragon_. I looked over the symbols again and again, trying to memorize them all.

"Bloom, I want you to start carrying this around with you" she handed me a small notebook. "if you ever do one of these again write it in here." I opened the book and copied all of the symbols in it, and as I began to place the one for sun in it, Faragonda stopped me.

"Where did this one come from?"

"I did it in Daphne's class, before I came here."

"Do you know what any of them mean?" She asked, I thought for a moment. Is it bad that I know what they mean?

"…Yes" I admitted. "they mean sky, field, grass, clouds, sun, and dragon."

"Bloom, these symbols are of the draconic alphabet, no one can decipher them. Thousands of the best Translators, architects, and even sorcerers have tried, but on one can. How is it that you know them?" She asked.

"I don't know. I look at them, a word pops into my head, and it just seems right. Then I kind of feel stupid for not knowing that in the first place, but then I think, 'how can I know that? I have never seen this before in my life'!"

She looked at me strangely, then sighed. "Can you write the meaning of the symbols down too? Maybe we can find some kind of pattern that will tell us why you know them."

"Oh, all of the symbols are things from my dream." I said without thinking.

"What dream?"

"I dreamed last night that I was in a field with long grass, the sun was shining and there were a few clouds in the sky, then I met a dragon."

Faragonda sat quietly for a moment. "Write down if you have dreams like that in the notebook as well, and come to me immediately after having one."

About a week had passed since I had that dream, but I can now sometimes look at something and think of the symbol for it. I have yet to have another dream like that, I wish I would have another.

I was sitting at Lake Roccaluce putting the symbol for stone into the little note book when I heard something. I looked up just in time to see a small golden wyvern crash into the lake.


	2. A Wyvern Called Mink

The Wyvern called Mink

I looked up just in time to see a small golden wyvern crash into the lake.

It may have been small for a wyvern, but it managed to make a big enough splash to completely soak me.

"Oh no!" I screamed as I got completely drenched. I tried my best to protect the note book with all the symbols in it but it ended up getting wet too. It wasn't that big of a problem, I could use my magic to dry it, but what about the dragon? I looked towards the lake, searching for any sign of it. Suddenly its head broke through the lakes surface, and I heard it gasp for air. It flailed in the water struggling to make it to shore. Something's wrong. It is hardly using its right wing. It doesn't look right either. The wyvern's right wing looked wrong, like it had been dislocated at the shoulder; It looked painful.

The wyvern was defiantly not full grown, it was small and its horns and spines still looked under developed and not fully grown. Its golden scales sparkled brightly as water droplets clung to them. It had piercing blue eyes that looked absolutely terrified. I wanted to help it, but even though it was small it was still twice my size, and its wingspan was huge. If I tried to help, I could end up getting myself killed.

It finally pulled itself onto land and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. It held its wing out, trying not to let it touch the ground. I felt bad for it, it probably had no idea where it was.

Suddenly it tried to stand up, it had some difficulty without the use of its wing. It sat down on its hind legs and swiveled its long neck to inspect its injury. It started to lick it shoulder when it saw me. When we made eye contact, I felt a pain in my eyes, but suddenly there was a voice in my head.

_"Who are you?"_ the voice was that of a young boy. _"what are you?"_

Not entirely sure what to do, I spoke aloud. "My name is Bloom, and I am a fairy. Who are you?"

The wyvern tilted its head. _"What did you say? I can't understand."_

So I have to talk with my mind, this is strange. _"Sorry, my name is Bloom and I am a fairy."_

_"But then how can I hear you? Only dragons can understand other dragons."_

_"I don't know, this is the first time this has ever happened, and I have been around other dragons before too."_

_"Human bred dragons cannot speak like we do. They are too dumb for eye speech." _The wyvern huffed

_"But I have been to Pyros as well, and what is eye speech?"_

_"Pyros dragons are just dumb ruffians who like to fight and stomp around like they're all that. They don't talk much, even with their mates! And eye speech is how we communicate. We can look into each others eyes and connect our minds, now we can talk whenever we are close to each other."_

This is too much. I can mysteriously write in ancient draconian and now I can speak to dragons? How am I supposed to explain this?

_"Why are captive dragons too dumb for eye speech?"_ I asked.

_"Humans have given them everything they ever needed."_ He began. _"Food, water, and even fit mates. Humans can't use eye speech because they don't have dragon eyes, and they don't exactly need to talk to each other, so they have forgotten how. The dragons do talk, don't get me wrong, but its more with their body and voice. We use our voice and body language too, but this way is much easier."_

_"And Pyros dragons?"_

_"Like I said before, they like to express themselves by fighting and shows of strength, more than intelligent conversations. They can talk, but they mostly use body language and really loud roars."_

I was surprised that such a young wyvern knew this much. He was very talkative and continued to ramble on about how dragons use eye speech. _"I wonder how you can speak to me though, your eyes look like dragon eyes, but you are a human."_

_"What do you mean my eyes-" _I stopped and ran to the lake and looked into the water. My eyes seemed normal enough. _"Ha ha, very funny-"_ as I spoke to him, my pupils turned into slits and contracted and retracted as I communicated with him.

"WHAT THE HECK!" I screamed and fell backwards. As I did that I scared the young Wyvern and he tried to stand up. He fell down though, without the added balance of his right wing, he would be pretty awkward for a while, speaking about his wing…

_"How bad does your wing hurt, and where is it the worst?" _I asked.

_"I just strained it a little bit, it will be fine."_

_"No, it won't. It looks like you dislocated it. Can I look at it?"_

_"If you think you can help, it really hurts."_ I slowly walked up to the golden wyvern and inspected its wing carefully. It was defiantly dislocated, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I just needed to push it back into place.

_"I can help, but it is going to hurt, a lot."_

_"Do it fast!"_ He began to whimper in anticipation, I decided to pull a little trick to try and help him.

_"On the count of three. One, two-"_ on two I pushed his wing back into place quickly. He was so surprised he only managed to gasp in pain.

_"Great dragons that hurt!"_ he screamed.

_"Don't worry, it will feel better in a while. Just don't use it much and it should be fine."_

_"Don't use it much, but I have to find Thanatos. We have to go home before Shine's eggs hatch!"_ His words startled me, do dragons live in groups or something? I thought they were solitary creatures.

_"Who are Thanatos and Shine?"_

_"Thanatos and Shine are mates, I live with them because my mother died, and Thanatos owed her his life, so they took me in as a way to thank her."_

_"Oh, I'm so sorry." _

_"About what? If you are talking about my mother, it's fine. She died before I hatched, she was protecting me from some stupid scavengers. I owe it to her to look on life positively since I was the only one in my clutch to live this long. My mother gave me a chance, and I will always be grateful for that, but Shine and Thanatos raised me, and I love them dearly. I would change nothing about what happened." _He said.

_"You are wiser than me, I was adopted as well, but I was sad that my birth parents were gone. I found them though, and love them, but I still have a special bond with my adoptive parents."_

We talked the day away, before neither of us noticed it was dusk.

_"I guess I have to go and find Thanatos now."_ He sighed.

_"Oh no you don't, your wing needs rest. You could hurt it again and make it even worse than before!" _I commanded.

_"But what do I do then?"_

_"Just stay around the lake, I will be back tomorrow. Wait, I never asked your name."_

_"You didn't did you?"_ he laughed. _"My name is Mink."_

Mink settled down under a large tree near the lake, but it was covered well with underbrush. I returned to Alfea just in time for curfew, but Griselda stopped me.

"And where have you been all day?" It took me a moment to answer her, because I had gotten so use to speaking with my mind to Mink.

"At Lake Roccaluce." I didn't want to tell anyone about Mink yet. While we were talking he expressed that he was not fond of humans. I called him a hypocrite since he was talking to me, but he said it was different because he could understand me. I'll tell Miss Faragonda about him after his wing is better.

I returned to my room just in time to get bombarded by questions from the girls. Where was I? Why didn't I answer my phone? Was I out with Sky?

"I was at the lake, it was so peaceful that I accidentally fell asleep, and my phone was off, sorry." I lied.

That seemed to satisfy all of them accept Stella, who was convinced I went and saw Sky.

"Come on Bloom, just tell me what happened between you two! "she whined. "I won't tell anyone, promise."

"Stella, I'm telling you, I didn't see Sky! I was at the lake all day."

"If you weren't with Sky.." She suddenly gasped "You were with some other guy weren't you!"

I froze. Mink was a wyvern, but he was a boy. I have nothing to be worried about, but she was half right.

"OMG! what's his name? What does he look like? Is he more handsome than Sky?" she drilled me her normal 'I met some nice guy' questions.

"Stella, you are blowing this way out of proportion. Fine, yes, I was with a boy, but he was hurt and I helped him." The best lies are partially true, so I used some truth to try and get her off my back.

"AHA, I knew it!" she yelled triumphantly, the other girls had all gathered to watch, They were kind of shocked.

"But what about Sky?" they all asked at once.

"Seriously?! He was just some young kid who was playing around at the lake, hurt himself, and I helped him!" I was angry that the others even thought I would cheat on Sky "What would you rather have me do, make out with him while he was screaming in pain from a dislocated shoulder!?"

My face was probably really red, but I was furious. Did they think I was that shallow? As soon as I yelled at them, they all looked down, their faces showed nothing but guilt, but not Stella, now she was angry at me.

"Well if you just told us in the first place, none of this would have happened." She huffed.

"Is some idiot getting hurt really that interesting to you?"

"No, but you lying to me is!" she screamed.

That was enough. I looked her evenly in the eyes and walked away. Out of the dorm, out of the school, and out of the walls of Alfea. I returned to where I left Mink, and saw him curled up in a tight ball with only his right wing out so it could heal.

_"Mink? Are you awake?"_ At my call, his head bolted up.

_"Bloom, I thought you had to go home or your friends would get worried?"_

_"I had an argument with my friend, and I had to leave before one of did something we would regret. Can I stay with you tonight?"_

_"Sure, it's really lonely here. I miss Thanatos and Shine." _Mink began to whimper, so I leaned against a tree and placed his head on my lap. He moved closer to me and I began stroking his neck. I didn't have school tomorrow, so I wouldn't have to worry about being too tired for classes. Slowly, but surely, we both fell asleep. Just as I drifted off, I thought of a symbol. Friend.


	3. The Black Death

The Black Death

I didn't have to open my eyes to know I was dreaming. I slowly opened them and was greeted with a lovely pink sunset. I stood up and looked towards the sun. Clouds covered most of the sky, but they were highlighted in pink, purple, orange, and yellow. Something felt wrong with the ground, and as I looked down at my feet I gasped. I was standing on water. I looked around myself to see nothing but water as far as the eye could see. This is different. Nice, but different. A small breeze carried the scent of saltwater, so I concluded that I was standing in the middle of an ocean. A shadow passed over me and I looked up to see the Silver dragon from my previous dream. She landed and water rippled around her. My feet made a splashing sound as I ran towards her.

_It has been awhile._

"I have been wanting to see you again..." I whispered as I began stroking her nose.

_"Bloom, it is almost time. Be ready for something that will make your heart scream and your inner fire burn hot. But know that something better will come of this. There is always something better to look forward to." Her words were confusing, but frightening as well._

"Is something going to happen to Mink?"

_"That depends, on him."_

"Who's him?

_"The Black Death. He will take you where you need to go."_

I was starting to get really worried. The Black Death is another name for a bad plague on Earth, is it the same here? No, this place is supposed to be peaceful, she makes me feel safe. I pushed all of my bad thoughts out of my mind and hugged her long, thick neck. The scales on her nose felt like velvet, but I found that the scales on her neck felt like strong silk. She placed her head lightly on my shoulder and softly pushes me closer to her chest.

"I wish we could stay like this." I whispered.

_"The time is coming soon, just be patient."_

I was half way joking, but I looked at her hopefully. Can I see her in real life? Her cerulean blue eyes locked with mine. She began to hum something softly. A lullaby. A lullaby that sounded really familiar. I remembered something cold, yet smooth pushing me closer to a warm, furry body.

I woke up to a funny sight. Mink was laying on his back with his head upside down on my lap. He was still asleep, but his leg twitched and he was slightly snoring. I couldn't stop my laughter. My laugh scared him out of his deep slumber. His head shot up, but I was too stunned to say anything. When he jerked his head up, his horns and small sharp scales on the top of his head and back of his neck ripped through my legs. I could hardly move because the pain was so intense. Tears began streaming from my eyes and a silent scream ripped through my throat. Mink was standing above me, my blood was dripping from his horns, his eyes looking both terrified and completely apologetic.

_"Bloom, Bloom I'm so sorry! I...I don't know what happened!"_ His voice was filled with panic. _"What should I do?! I don't know what to do for humans! I … I have to do something!"_

I couldn't even think straight, because my legs hurt so bad. I managed to force my eyes open and looked at the damage. Mink's two curved horns had completely sliced through my right thigh and just above my knee, and his other thorns and sharp scales on the top of his head had ripped through my clothes and mangled the top of my legs. Blood was gushing from my thigh, and I started to feel dizzy. My ears started ringing and I began to get tunnel vision. I couldn't understand him anymore and he was just a blurry golden blob pacing in front of me. Suddenly he stopped and his head got really close to my right leg. Hot. My right thigh was suddenly really, really hot. Burning hot. A new wave of pain reached my brain and this time I screamed at the top of my lungs. A horrible smell reached my nose and there was smoke coming from my thigh. The reality of what happened reached me slowly. Mink just burned the side of my leg with his fiery breath. Suddenly the blurry golden blob that was Minx disappeared, and I slowly sank into darkness.

It was cold. Really, really cold. But a moment ago it was hot. I opened my eyes and could barely register what I saw. A fierce blizzard was raging, and I was chest deep in snow.

I… I remember this. I got lost, then Gale found me. But I can't remember who Gale is. I closed my eyes and opened them again to see a red furry mass in front of me, beckoning me to follow.

I am so cold, and the darkness is so inviting. Something behind me picked me up gently, and began walking. I feel myself slip back into the darkness.

I woke up in a pale yellow room. The Alfea infirmary. There was a white screen blocking most of my view, but I turned my head slightly to see someone sitting beside my bed.

"Hey Bloom, how are you feeling?" Daphne asked.

Like crap. "Better than before. What happened?" I asked.

"A golden wyvern ran into Alfea roaring its head off with you on its back. Now my turn, what happened to you? Stella came to me crying saying that she upset you, you left, and hadn't come back yet." Daphne had a worried look on her face. I hate when she is worried about me.

I told her everything. Meeting Mink, speaking to him, fighting with Stella, and him accidentally mangling my lap. She listened quietly and seemed kind of shocked when I told her about eye speech.

As I ended my story, there was a knock at the door. Daphne looked to me and I nodded my head.

"Come in." she called.

Just as the words left her mouth, Stella came flying in, slamming into the side of the bed I was in at full force.

"I'msosorryitsallmyfaultareyouokaywhathappened!?" she was talking so fast I could barely understand her!

"No, it's not your fault, and I am fine." I said as the rest of the girls filled in the room. I retold the story I told Daphne, and they all looked at me in shock.

"Guys, what's wrong?" they seemed very anxious.

"We thought the dragon hurt you on purpose, so someone who was there called Argus, a famous and ruthless dragon trapper." Aisha said quietly. As if on cue, I heard a dragon roar. No, it wasn't the normal fierce dragon roar, this was a scream. As if a dragon was experiencing stark terror. I quickly got out of bed and looked through the window. Mink was trapped under a net, screaming at the top of his lungs, surrounded by five men.

I didn't think, I just acted. I took off down the hall, still in my pajamas, down to the courtyard where Mink was. As soon as I got outside I attacked the net. My magical fire burned easily through the netting, freeing Mink. He rushed towards me and hid behind me. It must have looked ridiculous, a dragon almost twice my size cowering behind me, a girl still in her pajamas. A buff looking man slowly approached me, looking quite unhappy.

"Who do you think you are? This dragon is dangerous, did you not hear that it wounded one of your class mates?" Mink hissed at him behind me. He was not holding up his injured wing anymore, and he used his other wing as a kind of third leg to hold him steady.

"I am Princess Bloom of Domino. I was the one wounded by this wyvern, and I can assure you it was all just a misunderstanding!' I spoke loud enough for the other students to hear. "This wyvern rested his head on my lap while he slept. I startled him on accident, and as a reaction, he jumped up, causing his horns to cut my legs."

"Princess, I can assure you that wild dragons, especially wyverns, can be very dangerous. I know it may seem sweet, but it is a young-ling, and young- lings grow up." The man said evenly.

"I will have you know that I have been among much bigger adult dragons, and I do know that he is a young-ling, but that doesn't excuse how you tried to handle him. His wing was injured when I found him, and now it is even worse! Look at him, he is terrified of you! I will handle him, I can defiantly handle him better than you have." It was hard to keep my voice steady. Mink was practically screaming in my head, telling me what happened before I came.

_"I was waiting for you to get better when this man came and his other men attacked me! They threw ropes at my feet and tossed a net over my head! My wing hurts even worse than before!"_

"Mink, please listen to me, after I speak in my language, go over to the girls standing next to the older woman."

_"Okay?"_ He seemed confused, but I am sure that right now, if I told him to go jump off a cliff, he would have.

"Mink, go over to those girls there and wait for me." I said out loud and pointed to the Winx, who were standing with Miss Faragonda.

Mink looked where I pointed and hopped over to them with his head low. Flora was the first to go up to him, and she immediately inspected his wing. The other girls soon got the message and defensively stood in front of him, facing the dragon trappers.

"Bloom's right, no real trapper would harm his catch if his intentions were good!" Stella yelled.

Other students joined her and Miss Faragonda walked up to join me.

"Argus, you are no longer needed. The situation has been explained to me and the wyvern is in need of our help. If you try anything I will escort you out of Alfea personally." The big man, Argus, seemed to get angry at her words.

"Fine, but if that wyvern goes outside of Alfea's walls, he is fair game." He spat.

The men got on their hover bikes and took off.

My anger wore off and I realized how badly my leg hurt. I fell to the ground, and in seconds, Mink was nuzzling my cheek.

It had been too weeks since our encounter with Argus, Mink's wing had been badly broken in the fray and was now almost completely healed. My leg healed quickly, but I had an ugly scar where Mink had seared my worst wounds closed.

We had not seen the guys in some time because they went on a training mission and weren't allowed to have their cell phones. As soon as the guys came back, they invited us to go on a group date to the beach. None of the guys know about Minx or Argus, so we would have a lot to talk about.

We met the guys at the beach, and all of them were excited to see us. Brandon swirled Stella around, Roy and Nex were both once again competing for Aisha's attention, Helia kissed Flora's hand, all of the guys greeted Musa, Timmy got bold and kissed Tecna on the cheek, and Sky wrapped me in a tight hug. We decided as a group that we would tell stories later and have fun now, so everyone ran and jumped into the salty water. Everyone but me.

The scars on my right thigh and leg made me really self-conscious, to the point that I wear long skirts or jeans all the time now. I was wearing a sundress dress over my bathing suit, but I would have to take it off to get in the water, and in taking it off, shows my scars.

I sat on the beach and watched the others have fun in the water. Sky sat next to me on a beach towel, and had his arm over my shoulder.

"Do you not want to go swimming?" He asked noticing something was wrong "Or is something bothering you?"

I sighed, I can't keep this secret from him. He will notice something is wrong and think I don't trust him with the truth.

"Sky, while you were gone, something happened." I began, Sky's face suddenly became serious.

"What happened?"

"Well, I… I got hurt, and I have a big scar on my right leg. It's really big and ugly… I don't like it." How do you tell someone you got a scar without giving some kind of backstory? I didn't want to tell the story twice so I withheld a lot.

"Bloom, no scar could be ugly on you. You are too beautiful to have something ugly about you." He hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear. "I don't care what you look like. And you shouldn't either."

His words gave me enough confidence to go join the others. I pulled the sundress off, and Sky's eyes immediately went to my leg. The smaller scratches healed and left no scars, but the two bigger ones made by Mink's two main horns demanded attention. Dark red burns surrounded the two dark lines, one above my knee and another at my thigh, that were an angry purple black, like a bruise. I felt self-conscious again and tried to cover it with my hand, but Sky quickly grabbed my hands and pulled me close to him.

"Whatever did this to you will regret it. I can't imagine the pain you must have been through, and I wasn't there for you." His voice had a lot of determination and regret.

"Sky, trust me, this was a stupid accident. I will tell you later, I promise."

The other guys stopped to stare at my scars, but the girls quickly snapped them out of it. We had a great time in the water, and two hours later, we decided to take a break and have lunch.

"Okay, I think all of us guys can agree, it's story time. Start talking." Brandon said.

"You guys first, not much happened while you were gone." Stella said, but Sky gave her a look that said, 'I beg to differ', but the guys gave in and began their story.

"Well, the training mission was just one thing, TRAINING. We worked all day and most of the night. It was brutal, but I have to admit, we all worked hard and got a lot stronger." The guys had plenty of funny stories of each other goofing up, playing pranks, and working hard trying to hone their skills. After they were done, it was my turn to start talking. I told them about how I found Mink, my fight with Stella, and the accident, but when I got to the part about Argus, as soon as I mentioned his name, they got really excited.

"Argus is a hero! He stopped some dragons who were causing a lot of trouble back of Eraklyon." Sky said.

"Yeah he is a master dragon handler and trapper. He takes care of dragon problems all over Magix." Timmy said. The girls and I exchanged nervous glances.

"Master dragon handler is a bit of an overstatement." I said slowly, waiting for the guys' reaction. "He tried to capture Mink and ended up breaking his wing. Mink wasn't causing any trouble, but Argus jumped in and was really rough with him."

The guys all began laughing.

"Sorry girls, but Argus is a professional. Dragons are fierce, wild animals. It takes an iron fist and lots of muscle to trap one." Nex said.

I was about to say something back to him, when a thunderous roar reverberated through the air. We all turned at once to see a massive jet black dragon crashing to the ground surrounded by Argus and his men.


	4. Rebel's Attack

Rebel's Attack

The Dragon was the color of coal with blazing green eyes, and green fire poured from his mouth. Argus and his men continued to circle and taunt the dragon, shooting arrows from crossbows to agitate it. I wanted to cry and scream at the same time. This is no way to treat a living thing! I felt angry, angrier than I have been in a while. Suddenly, I remembered what the silver dragon had said.

_Bloom, it is almost time. Be ready for something that will make your heart scream and your inner fire burn hot._

She was right. My heart was screaming and my anger was steadily growing. Before I knew what I was doing, I was off at a run. They were hurting the dragon. It was screaming in pain, fear, and anger. There were footsteps behind me, the others were following me as well. I stopped right in front of the massive dragon. Anger seemed to radiate from it in waves.

"Magic Winx, Bloomix!" I shouted, the other girls followed my lead and transformed as well.

"Try to stop the men from attacking, I'm going to try and calm it down." I yelled to them.

The others formed a shield around me and the dragon, protecting us from their attacks. The dragon roared at me and took a deep breath, readying its fiery breath. I looked directly in his eyes and felt my own tinge.

_"Stop!"_ I yelled in my head.

The dragon seemed dumbfounded that I spoke to him.

_"Who are you?"_ he asked.

_"My name is Bloom, I am the fairy of the dragon flame. Please, calm down. My friends and I won't let these men bother you anymore."_ I reached out my hand and lightly touched his nose. He flinched a bit, but allowed me to stroke his smooth scales.

_"They believe I am a danger to their people, but I am only looking for my charge. He is a young golden wyvern by the name of Mink."_

He's looking for Mink? _"Are you Thanatos?"_ I gasped.

_"Yes, how do you know my name?"_

_"I met Mink a few weeks ago. He hurt his wing, so I helped him. He has been so worried about you."_ Thanatos' gaze softened.

_"How is he?"_

_"His wing is almost completely better, but he can't leave Alfea without those men going after him."_

Thanatos whipped his head around and snarled at the men who were screaming at us. Their distorted voices echoed through the shield, and they were not exactly friendly.

_"Please, leave them alone. Fighting won't help you get to Mink any faster." _I turned to the other girls.

"He's calmed down. Let the shield down." I called to them. As soon as the shield went down, Argus went charged right up to me on his hover bike.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" he roared. "THIS DRAGON IS THE DEADLY BLACK DEATH, HE NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH!" The Black Death? Wait, the silver dragon told me about him! She said he would take me where I need to go, but where do I need to go? Never mind that right now, I have to get him to Mink.

"I can assure you that all is under control now. This dragon is no threat." I said as calmly as I could.

"This dragon is a danger to the public!" Argus retorted, clenching a fist.

"This dragon is now mine." I looked him straight in the eyes. I don't know what possessed me to say that, but he seemed to back off a bit.

"If that dragon even looks like it will do something, it will be mine, and you will take full responsibility for any damages." He hissed.

He motioned to his men and they all took off.

_"I do not belong to you."_ Thanatos said.

_"It was the only thing I could think of to keep him from you. Wait, you understood me?"_

_"I can understand most forms of human speech, most adult dragons can, but how can you understand me?"_

_"I don't know, I learned that I could speak to dragons only two weeks ago."_

I landed near his feet along with the other girls where the guys were waiting for us.

"What just happened?!" Sky yelled.

"I spoke to Thanatos, the dragon, and had him calm down. He was just looking for Mink." I explained. "They thought he was a danger, so they attacked first and asked questions later."

All of the guys seemed dumbstruck, and a bit on the angry side. They all seemed a bit ticked off that we had interfered, but a "Hero" or not, Argus crossed the line.

"Well, if he's looking for Mink, we know where to find him." Stella said completely ignoring the guys.

"Yeah, let's hurry back." Aisha said. "Mink will be so happy!"

We returned to where we had lunch, packed up, and went back to Alfea. Thanatos flew above us while we rode with the guys on their hover bikes. Mink was sleeping on the roof of Alfea when we arrived, he has been climbing all over the place to try to strengthen his wing, and his head shot up when Thanatos roared as we approached. Mink jumped from the roof and met him as he landed, with us arriving just after Thanatos. Miss Griselda didn't seem very happy though.

"Great, two dragons Bloom, really?!" She said exasperated as she watched Thanatos check over Mink. "Mink isn't much of a problem, but him?!" she motioned to Thanatos. "This is ridiculous!"

"Miss Griselda, this is Thanatos, Mink's father. He has been looking for Mink for a while now, and I just told him where he was. I'm sure they won't stay long."

_"Yes, I have to return to my mate and our eggs. Shine is probably worried sick."_

_"How will you get back? Mink's wing is still not completely better."_

_"Mink will ride on my back, as will you."_

_"Wait, who said I was going with you two?"_

_"King Enti will without a doubt want to meet you, and I believe you have a bounty on your head. Not a bad bounty, mind you, a dragon by the name of Frozen Gale is looking for a fairy about your age and who looks like you."_

_"King Enti? Frozen Gale? You need to slow down for a second, I have no idea who both of those people are!"_

_"They are not people, King Enti is the king of the sky dragons and Frozen Gale is a Frost Wyvern who took care of a human child for a time."_

"Um, earth to Bloom, come in Bloom?" Stella said.

"Sorry, Thanatos wants me to go with him to meet two dragons called King Enti and Frozen Gale, but I'm not so sure."

"Legend says that there are four dragon rulers that rule over the kingdom dragons." Miss Faragonda said, startling all of us. "A ruler of dragons that fly high in the sky, a ruler of dragons that dwell on the ground, and a ruler of dragons that swim in the watery depths. The fourth and final ruler is said to be a relative of the Great Dragon, and me the mediator between dragons and humans."

"He said that Enti is the king of the sky dragons." I added.

"If a dragon king wants to meet with you, you should go. No one has seen the dragon rulers in centuries. It would be quite the honor, Bloom."

I looked to Thanatos and Mink, then back to Faragonda. "Okay, I'll go, but I will need a couple of days to prepare."

That night, Mink and Thanatos curled up in the court yard together. It was decided that in three days, I would go with them to see the king. That way I could get ahead in class, and have some time to learn what I should do in the presence of a dragon king. I laid back on my bed and thought about the past couple of weeks. Mink learned to get along with the students at Alfea very well and was even sad to leave his many new friends, but both he and Thanatos were itching to get back to Shine. Sleep tugged at me, and I slowly gave in.

I was dreaming again, but there was nothing around me. The silver dragon was nowhere in sight. I was just floating in space, surrounded by nothing. I heard a loud scream in the back of my head.

_"Wake up Bloom! Wake up!"_ it was Thanatos, and he seemed really upset. I tried to imagine waking up in my bed, but I couldn't. My body was as heavy as stone, and I began to panic. Why can't I wake up?! Suddenly I felt like I was falling, then there was a sharp pain on my back.

I woke up slowly, but something wasn't right. There was something covering my face. A wet rag, but why does it smell so strange? I was really out of it, but not bad enough to leave it on my face. I pulled the rag off and took a deep breath of fresh air. Slowly, my body began to feel somewhat normal, and I opened my eyes to find myself in the woods with Thanatos standing over me. I didn't have to look far to see some guys in masks and cloaks fighting another group of guys in familiar uniforms. My head cleared up a bit, and I realized that those guys were none other than the specialists. The guys fought off the masked men with ease, and by the time that the last one retreated, I was leaning heavily on Thanatos' long, thick neck.

"Bloom, are you okay?" Sky asked as he slid next to me. I was still pretty out of it, so I just nodded my head. Sky wrapped me in a hug and whispered in my ear.

"I am so sorry this happened. I am so, so sorry." He picked me up and I fell asleep in his arms.

The next time I woke up, I was in Alfea's infirmary. I looked around thinking I was alone, but Flora was out cold in a bed on the other side of the room. The door opened and Faragonda entered with both Sky and Helia close behind. Helia immediately went to Flora's side while Sky rushed to me.

"Bloom, I'm so glad you're awake." She said.

"What happened, and what's wrong Flora?" I asked, looking back to my roommate.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," Sky began. "Back of Eraklyon, a group of rebels has been causing trouble for us. Vandalizing land marks, damaging government property, and even attacking politicians and anyone close to the royal family. Things have been getting worse and worse, but I never thought they would go this far. Last night, a group of the rebels tried to kidnap you, probably to blackmail me, but the dragons noticed them before they even got into Alfea and woke Miss Faragonda."

Thanatos and Mink, they saved me, but… "But what about Flora?" I looked to her again. Helia was holding her hand. If it wasn't for the slow rising and falling of her chest, I would have thought she was dead.

"The rebels soaked some rags with some kind of drug, and placed it over both of your faces so nether of you would wake up and call for help. You managed to pull off the rag by yourself after a short time, but Flora wasn't so lucky. Aisha found her with the rag still over her face after we took you inside. She should be fine, she was just exposed to the drug for a longer time, so it is taking a little longer for her to wake up." Sky explained.

"So she should wake up soon?" I asked.

"Yes, but she might be a bit groggy. You were completely out of it when I got to you."

"I remember. Thanatos was screaming in my head for me to wake up, so I did, but I didn't really understand anything."

It was about thirty minutes later when Flora finally came around. Sky kept apologizing to her, since she wasn't the rebel's target, but she insisted that it was fine, and startled us with the fact that it wasn't the first time something like this has happened to her.

"My cousins, Miele, and I love playing pranks on each other, so once my cousin made a sleeping potion, wet a rag with it and used it on me. Let's just say, that I woke up painted red and needless to say he got his shortly after." She explained. We all laughed at the story, thinking of how Flora might have gotten her revenge.

"Wow, quick question, is it that easy to make?" Sky asked.

"If you have access to the key ingredient, yes. And no, I'm not going to tell any of you what that key ingredient is."

"Bloom, there is something I need to tell you." Sky suddenly got really serious. "I will be going back to Eraklyon tomorrow to help fight the rebels. Faragonda has agreed that you should probably not be at Alfea since they are bold enough to come after you even at a school for Fairies. I think you would be safest back on Domino, where you can have guards protect you."

"But, Sky, I will be fine here. It was just dumb luck that they got in. I didn't lock the window last night, and if I had, I would have woken up when they tried to get in." I tried to reason with him, but his mind was made up.

"I am sorry to say this, but I agree with Sky. I don't believe you will be safe enough here. If it wasn't for the dragons who warned us of their attempt, you would be long gone. I know you will want to spend some time with Sky since he will be leaving tomorrow, but I want you to come see me at the end of the day." Miss Faragonda said.

I looked around the room, Flora and Helia were gazing at me sympathetically, and Sky and Faragonda both waited for me to answer.

"Fine, I will go back to Domino." I gave in after a moment.

After that, the nurse checked Flora and me over. Deeming us fit to get up, we went back to our rooms where I got dressed and then met Sky out at the courtyard. I greeted Thanatos and Mink, then I ended up spending the entire day with Sky. We finally returned to Alfea just before dark. There was an Eraklyon ship waiting there for Sky when we got back. He kissed me goodbye and climbed on board. I watched in complete silence as they took off into the sunset.

I walked solemnly to Faragonda's office and knocked on her door. She called me in, I opened the door and was greeted by an old friend.

"Maia! It is so good to see you!" I cried as I embraced her.

"It has been too long Bloom. We can catch up later, but for now just listen." She told me. Maia helped me train and survive on Pyros, the island of dragons. She has lived there for who knows how long, and knows a lot about dragons.

"I asked Maia here yesterday to get her input on you meeting King Enti." Faragonda explained. "She believes it best for you to meet the king immediately."

"The king of the sky will have much to teach you, so will the rulers of the land and water dragons. I have been told of what happened last night, and of your recent abilities of knowing the ancient draconian language. I firmly believe that you should leave immediately, for your own safety. Also, the faster you meet Enti, the faster you will learn and master your new skills." Maia said.

"So, you're saying that I should leave now?"

"Yes, no one knows where the dragon rulers reside, so you will be completely safe from the rebels. I would refrain from telling too many others, so no one can try and follow you." Maia said.

They sent me back to my room to tell the girls and pack a small backpack with some essentials. The girls were devastated that I was leaving already, but they understood.

I told the dragons and both were excited to leave. Mink climbed on to Thanatos' back, and I climbed on after him. Mink may be twice my size, but Thanatos was almost four times the size of Mink. Thanatos took three lunging steps, and launched himself up into the night sky. We were officially on our way, just like the silver dragon had said.


	5. The Clan

The Clan

It was pitch black out. The only light was the stars above us as Thanatos, Mink, and I flew through the night sky. I hated the fact that I had to leave Alfea and my friends, but if rebels were willing to come after me at a fairy school, they won't hesitate to hurt those around me.

I laid back on Thanatos' broad shoulders and looked up at the night sky. Mink sat behind me, he had fallen asleep some time ago, only Thanatos and I were awake.

"_Thanatos?" I called out to him in my mind_

"_Please, call me Thana. It is shorter that way." He answered_

"_Okay, Thana. What is King Enti like?" _

"_King Enti is a powerful ruler. He's a bit gruff in nature, but he is wise and a good leader. He is not one to beat around the bush, and he is not likely to sugar coat things. He also is not one to hold his tongue if he sees injustice."_

"_You also mentioned a dragon called Frozen Gale, who is she?"_

"_All I know about her is that she is a frost wyvern who lives on the planet Glazer. She found a human child with blazing orange hair and with powers of a dragon. One day, the child disappeared and she has never stopped hoping the child will come back. She even placed a bounty for the child, and by the description of the child, there is reason to believe that it could be you."_

Glazer is a planet made of nothing but ice. It is so cold there, if you threw water up in the air, it would freeze instantly. There is little life on the planet, and most of which people don't know about, but there is reason to believe that under the ice, there could be a vast amount of undersea life and vegetation. One of the only known species of animal on the planet is the frost wyvern, and they are said to be solitary creatures that roam the frozen planes and fly during hail storms. Glazier is one of the harshest planets to live on, so how could I, let alone a human child, have gotten there?

"_Bloom, it is a long way still to my clan, you should try and get some rest."_

"_You live in a clan? I thought dragons are solitary animals."_

"_Some are, some aren't. Shine, Mink and I are in a clan with only four other dragons, one of which also has a clutch of eggs. We all knew each other before hand, and once Shine and Sora found they were expecting, we formed a small clan to watch over the younglings till we can take them to a dragon nursery."_

"_Oh, so you make clans to raise your young?"_

"_Most of the time. Most dragons take their young to a dragon nursery, a safe place where multiple dragons raise their young together, but it isn't the wisest idea to bring newborns to a place with rambunctious young dragonets who are looking for trouble. Some dragons, though, just form a clan because they like being around others."_

"_Who are the dragons on your clan?"_

"_Let's see, there is Shine, Mink, Sora, Moorhen, Basalt, Blitz, and me. Now, enough questions, we should be there by dawn. You need rest."_

"_I have tried, but I can't."_

Thanatos was quiet for a moment, then he began to hum something.

_High in the sky, on the mountain tops that rise_

_Above the sea, where the deeps swim free_

_Close to the ground, where there is nary a sound_

_two dragons fly, for the earth and the sky_

I don't know where the words came from, but there they were. I was singing them aloud as Thanatos sang them in my head. Something about them was so comforting, and soothing that after the second verse, I was asleep.

"Gale, wait up!" I called out over the raging blizzard

The massive figure in front of me turned around and stared at me

"_We must hurry child, you will not last long out here."_

I raised my hands to her "Carry me."

"_No, you must keep moving so I know you are okay. You could die if you stopped moving,"_

"Oh." I sulked

"_I will carry you after we get you warm again." _She sighed

I woke up slowly and looked around to see the sun just rising above the horizon. Suddenly, a thought hit me. I didn't tell Daphne… this is not going to end well.

Sky's POV

I called Bloom's parents the next day asking if Bloom was already at home, but she wasn't. She hadn't even called to tell them she was going home. I guess she forgot and is just about to leave, or on her way there. I called Daphne next, and that was when things got interesting.

"She never told me she was going home. Do you know when she left?" she asked

"She was supposed to leave this morning."

"Well, she isn't here. She left last night. I saw her leave with Thanatos and Mink." She began to sound a bit worried

I kind of panicked a bit. I called Stella to find out where Bloom was, but even she could not give me an answer.

"Well, Sky… She uhh, went home last night!"

"Well I called her parents to ask if she got there yet and they said they weren't even told. Then I called Daphne to hear she left with the dragons last night." I was beginning to get a bit agitated

"She…uhh, went to her adoptive parent's house! She thought that the rebels wouldn't know where she would be on Earth, so she went there."

So I called her adoptive parents.

"Hello! Sky! What a nice surprise." Vanessa stumbled

"Is Bloom there?"

"No, sorry. She is out right now."

"Will you ask her to call me back?"

"She is actually staying with an old friend right now, to really throw of the rebels."

Oh, well that's good. Tell her I called." I hung up and sighed

For the love of the great dragon, I know it's a secret, but you have to tell someone to keep others from having a heart attack!

Stella's POV

"That was close." I sighed "We really didn't think this through."

The others nodded their heads. As soon as Sky called, we has to teleport to Gardenia to keep up the lie. We teleported so fast though, so we were all kind of winded, but I had enough energy to tell Vanessa what was going on and what she should say to Sky if he called. She was still pretty surprised that we appeared right in the middle of her living room, but we got there just in the nick of time.

"_We need to keep Bloom's whereabouts a secret. Even if we don't know exactly where she is, it would be best for no one except for you girls to know where she is going." Faragonda said_

"_That shouldn't be too hard, I mean the only person she didn't tell was Sky." I said, just as Daphne walked into the room_

"_Do you know where Bloom is?" she asked "Sky just called and said that she isn't at Domino, and she isn't here." You have got to be kidding me._

This has to be the most interesting and rushed morning I have ever had. I looked down at myself to see that I was still in my pajamas.

"Well," I said to Vanessa "See ya later!" I teleported again to get back to Alfea and ready for class.

Bloom's POV

It took another couple of hours to reach a large mountain with a massive cave near its base. Thanatos roared, circled around twice, and landed gracefully in front of the cave. A massive white and pale grey dragon stood outside the cave.

"_Bloom, this is Basalt. He is Sora's mate." Thanatos whispered to me_

I immediately looked into his blazing yellow eyes.

"_Hello"_ Apparently, Basalt has never met a human that can speak dragon before, because he jumped back at my greeting.

Basalt was not as tall as Thanatos, but he was twice as thick. Thanatos was quite slim. His body was make for speed when flying and for tight turns. Basalt, however, seemed to be just pure muscle. He was bulky and strong looking, like he was born to fight and always win out of sheer mass. He was not one you would want to pick a fight with.

"_Basalt!" _Mink ran up to and nuzzled the massive dragon

"_Who have you brought with you Mink?" he had a deep voice that seemed to reverberate through my head_

"_This is Bloom. She helped me when I hurt my wing and she even found Thanatos! Thana says that King Enti would want to meet Bloom because she can speak dragon."_

"_I bet he would want to meet her." _He turned to me _"I am Basalt. Come, you must be tired from the long flight."_

I followed him into the cave which turned out to be a winding tunnel with multiple branching paths.

"_Thanatos, Shine would want to see you." _Basalt said _"And you too, Mink"_

The two dragons left me with Basalt and turned down one of the tunnels.

_Thanatos said that there are other dragons here, where are they?" _I asked

"You can speak out loud girl." A voice at the back of the tunnel startled me "Only Mink will not be able to understand you."

I turned around to see an old female dragon walking towards us. She had dark red and brown scales that seemed to hang off of her bony frame.

"_This is Moorhen, she is Sora's great grandmother." Basalt said to me_

"You can speak human." I said, still a bit shocked

"Yes, I can. Some dragons can, while others can't. It is just about how well the dragon in question can control his lips." She chuckled

"Sorry, I have never been around a dragon that can speak."

"It's quite all right. To be fair, I have never even heard of a human that can speak dragon. Maybe one or two that have a special gift and can read their moods, but never one that actually speaks our language."

"How many other dragons can speak human?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea, but here, Shine, Sora, Blitz, and I can speak human. Basalt and Thanatos try to learn, but their mouths are not made for your tongue."

Now that I think about it, Basalt and Thanatos will never learn how to speak my language. Both have different shaped heads, Thana has more narrow and Basalt's head is squared and large, but both have tight lips that don't have the ability to move the way they need to speak human. They might be able to get some sounds, but they wouldn't be able to get a sentence, let alone most words out. Moorhen on the other hand, her mouth is square like, but narrow, and her lips are looser. Whether or not it be from old age or they are what she was born with, it probably just took some practice to speak.

"Who are Blitz, Shine, and Sora?"

"Sora is my great, great, great granddaughter. There are probably more greats than that, but I can't remember. Shine is Thanatos' mate. And Blitz is our resident feydragon."

As if on cue, three dragons I have never seen before came out of three different tunnels. The first one must be Sora. She is pale red with darker red brown scales lining her back, head and shoulders. The second dragon was impossibly small. He was only about as long as my arm and his two sets of wings reminded me of dragon fly wings. He must be the feydragon Blitz. He was black and had blue and yellow stripes lining his body. The third dragon was followed closely by Thanatos and Mink, and she was gorgeous. Her pure white scales and iridescent wings shone beautifully in the little light that lit the tunnel. She must be Shine, her name fits her perfectly.

"So you are the one who saved my little Mink." Shine said as she lowered her head to me. I placed my hand softly on her nose.

"I helped him when he hurt his wing, but I didn't save him." I said quietly

"Nonsense, you saved Mink from the dragon trappers, healed his wing, and even saved Thana. I am in your debt." Her voice was quiet and soft, and for some reason, she reminded me of the silver dragon. Wait, I wonder if they know about the silver dragon. I turned to Moorhen.

"There are so many things I want to ask you." I began

"No, not now. You must eat and get ready to go see the King." Moorhen stopped me "Blitz, do you mind sharing some food with our guest?"

"Of course not. Come, you must be hungry." Blitz beckoned me to follow him down one of the smaller tunnels till we came to a small cave with a ton of fruit in it.

"I thought all dragons were carnivores."

"That's because humans call the big scary dragons, dragons. They put me and my species in a different category all together. I don't remember what they call us, but it is to the effect of flying-bug-lizard. They only think of dragons as large reptiles that have wings and breathe fire. My kind, flightless dragons, and even wyrms are put into separate categories while they put dragons and Wyverns together! It is just stupid!" Blitz was getting pretty agitated, so I decided to change the subject

"So what kinds of fruit do you have here?"

"Oh, all kinds. My favorite are river berries and sweet seeds. They are amazing when fresh, but for them to last longer, I have to dry them out. They are still pretty good though." Blitz only has two back legs, but his toes worked like little fingers, picking through the pile till he pulled out what looked like a giant raisin.

"This is a dried pink river berry. They are my favorite, try one." He dropped the berry into the palm of my hand. I popped it into my mouth and at first, it tasted a bit bitter, but as soon as I bit down, it was like I bit down on a sweet gummy candy that was filled with some kind of fruit juice. I chewed slowly, savoring the flavor, then I noticed that Blitz was watching me carefully with his mouth half open and his teeth showing.

"That has to be the greatest thing I have ever tasted!" I exclaimed after I swallowed. Blitz opened his mouth even more and I chuckled "What's wrong?"

"I'm so glad you like it!" he jumped back to the pile and began pointing out all of the different fruit and had me taste at least one of each kind he had.

We must have been back there for some time, because I heard Thanatos calling me from outside the small cave.

"It has been decided that we will go to see Enti tomorrow, that way you can get used to being around dragons and speaking with your mind." Thanatos explained

I spent the rest of the day with Thanatos, Blitz, and Moorhen. I was told that I was not allowed in Sora and Shine's Caves because that was where their eggs were and female dragons can be a bit overprotective. At the end of the day, Blitz invited me to stay in his cave since it had moss lining the floors and it would be more comfortable than sleeping on rocks or dragon scales.

As I laid down on the floor of Blitz' cave, I began to miss my friends for the first time since I've left. My eyes began to mist up and a single tear fell down my cheek as I thought of them. Something rough and moist touched my cheek. I opened my eyes to see Blitz standing next to me. He laid down next to me and I rolled over to face him.

"_Don't be sad, friend."_ His soft voice appeared in my head

"Sorry, I just miss my friends." I whispered

"_Your friends are fine. Thana told us what happened and we won't let anything bad happen to you. Your friends will be safe as well, they are not the ones those men wanted."_ His words reassured me and after some time, I finally fell asleep.


	6. King Enti

King Enti

I opened my eyes to see a clear pink sky with not a cloud in sight. The sun was on the horizon and I guessed that is was a sun rise. I got to my feet and I found that I was standing in the middle of a desert. A gust of wind blew my hair around wildly, but my skin only felt a small breeze. For a time, I watched the sand dunes shift and change. The sand seemed to dance around me to a melody that I couldn't hear. Suddenly, I heard a soft thump behind me and I turned around to see the silver dragon.

"It's you!" I ran to her, but she jumped back. I was a bit startled, but then she proceeded to do a play bow, like how a dog bows when he is playful.

_Let us dance to the song of the sand._

She jumped over me and I proceeded to chase her. Something seemed to take over me. I was aware of each grain of sand in the wind, every single molecule on the ground. I threw my hands above my head and dropped to the ground. I gathered two handfuls of sand, got up, and began to spin around. Each blast of the wind made me contort into some sort of quick paced dance and the silver dragon seemed to be doing the same.

This song and dance is the first step in something greater. The silver dragon said to me after we both calmed down. This has been the longest I have ever spent with her, and I wanted to relish every second.

_Look to your hands._

I looked at my hands and I was surprised to find them coated in a thin layer of glass. _Turning sand to glass is the first step in changing diamond to dust._

"Why would I need to do that?"

_You shall see, someday soon._

I woke up with a thin layer of glass on my hands the next morning. I spent a few moments trying to figure out how to get it off, before I finally gave up and smashed my hands on the ground. Surprisingly, I didn't get cut, but unsurprisingly, I heard something crashing about in the main cave.

One day ended up being about a week as I waited to go see King Enti. The night of my first day at Thana's clan, Sora's eggs began to hatch. I was a stranger there so I had to stay away from the caves. Blitz invited me to forage for food with him while Sora and Basalt cared for their new family. We came back late that day and Thanatos told us that three dragnets hatched from the five eggs Sora had. A lot was going on with the three young ones so Thanatos and I were unable to go see Enti. I miss my friends and Alfea, but I have gotten used to being with dragons that were big enough to step on and kill me. Thanatos says that King Enti is much larger than him and Basalt, so I guess it is good training dodging dragon feet, wings, and tails.

I looked around to find Blitz was still gone. Blitz disappeared four days ago and has not come back. None of the others know where he went, but all of them believe that he is fine and there is nothing to worry about. Blitz and I have grown close because of the three days he and I shared a sleeping cave, so I can't help but worry about him.

I climbed out of Blitz's cave only to be tackled by two fighting dragnets.

"Boys, knock it off!" I half laughed half shouted at the two little ones.

Sora had two boys and one girl from her clutch, and she has yet to name them. The oldest boy is dark red and dark brown like his mother, the second oldest was the other boy who was dark grey, and the youngest was the girl who was red and white. The little girl, who I have nicknamed Girly, is much shyer and quieter than her rambunctious brothers, and she is a lot more aware of her surroundings.

"Careful Bloom. Those two have been at it all night. They have driven poor Sora half way to madness." Moorhen chuckled.

Suddenly. Mink was shoved out of the cave he shared with Shine and Thanatos.

_"But I wanna see them when they hatch!"_ his cry echoed through my head. When they hatch? What does he mean by- wait a second. I looked to Moorhen, then back to Mink

_"Mink? Are Shine's eggs hatching?"_

_"Yeah,"_ he huffed. _"But they won't let me see them! I'm a part of the family too!"_

"If you were in there with them, it would be way over crowded and bad for the young." Moorhen reasoned with the young wyvern.

_"Well- but…"_

"No buts, the young need their space and to bond with their parents." Sora and Basalt kept the little ones with them in their cave with them for about two days. Moorhen told me that dragons stay with their young so they can learn each other's scents and voices. It makes sense, the parents bond with their babies while they also learn about them.

"Hey Mink." I have learned how to speak out loud and with my mind at the same time so Mink gets used to it. "Let's go to the lake while we wait for the new dragnets."

Mink followed me out of the cave and through a little wooded area near by. The woods are where Blitz and I foraged for berries at, and some ways into the woods, there is a lake. Blitz and I would go there to fish and search for river berries, so I thought it would be a nice distraction for Mink.

"Here, watch this." I picked up a forked spear I fashioned from a tree branch to fish with, and stood on a rock that jutted out over the water, being careful that my shadow did not fall on the water. Mink watched closely as I stood completely still and waited. It took a while, but sometime later, a fish crossed in front of me. It took a lot of practice, but I finally have gotten fast enough to spear one almost every time. I snapped my wrist and the spear went through the fish with ease.

Mink bared his teeth with his mouth half open, which I have come to know as a dragon smile and ran up to me.

_"That was so cool! Can I try?"_

"I don't think you can use my spear, but you might be able to catch one with your teeth." I moved back to watch Mink try to fish. He looked a bit silly, balancing on the edge of a rock that was that was a decent size for me, but a bit small for him, but he copied me well when it came to keeping his shadow off the water.

Suddenly, his head shot under the water, but in doing that, lost his balance and fell in the lake. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the young wyvern struggling to get to his feet.

_"What are you laughing at?"_ he demanded.

"You!" I gasped for breath between laughs. "I can't believe that just happened!"

_"Would you like to join me?"_ he asked with a hint of amusement.

"No, now Mink, don't you even think-" Mink cut me off as he grabbed my arm and hurled me into the lake.

We splashed around and played in the shallows for some time, and once we got tired out. We decided to eat. I had wrapped my fish I caught earlier in some lerus leaves, Blitz told me that they stay fresh longer that way, and Mink cooked it with his fiery breath. Mink flew off to hunt while I ate my fish.

Mink's wing was already almost entirely healed when we first came here, and after a couple of days, he seemed to be perfectly fine. Shine had the ability to manipulate fire and used it to help Mink's wing heal faster, and she promised to teach me to do the same thing. She has already shown me how to manipulate the heat that my fire produces and make it into a soothing warmth, but she says she knows only so much about fire manipulation and that I would need to learn from a master.

Mink returned with a full stomach and a mountain goat head for me, in which I immediately declined and advised him to give it to Shine for the new dragnets. We were about to make our way back to the cave, when something stopped me. Somethings wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

I whirled around, looking around for something that could tell me why I was feeling like this.

_"Bloom? What's wrong?"_ Mink asked, startled by my sudden anxiety.

The feeling began to get worse, and my stomach began to turn to stone as a stronger wave of dread hit me. I turned to the lake quickly and saw something small and purple break the surface of the water. A dragon.

I rushed over to the small purple and blue dragon that was weakly crawling to shore. Just as I reached it, it collapsed into my arms. It was defiantly a dragnet, a lot younger than Mink but not a baby, probably a toddler by human standards. She had sleek purple scales that turned to blue around her back, her wings were pale pink, and she has small fins around her legs and on her tail.

"Mink, go get Moorhen." I said quietly as I began to use my healing powers to try and revive the small dragon. I heard Mink take off back to the cave. I began to check her over to see if she had any injuries, and I found some lines on her back leg. The marks nearly made me sick, they look like a jellyfish sting, and I know that certain species can be incredibly toxic. There were only three lines, but I could tell that she was more exhausted than anything.

"Bloom, what happened?" Moorhen said as she landed behind me.

"I had a bad feeling, then this dragon came out of nowhere. I think she was stung by a jellyfish." I explained quickly. "My healing powers are helping a bit, but she is completely exhausted."

"…Come, bring her back to the cave, Shine may be able to help her rest easier." Moorhen said after a moment.

I picked up the small dragon, and began to walk back to the cave. Mink ran to greet me when we got back while Sora and Basalt had to trap their young in their cave to keep them out of the way. Thanatos was out of the cave too, and by the silent atmosphere, I knew something was wrong.

"Thana, what happened?" I asked after I placed the small dragon on the ground.

_"Only one egg hatched of our four, and she is really weak. It is doubtful that she will survive."_ He said solemnly.

"Oh Thana," I went to him and wrapped my arms around his head. "I'm so sorry."

I heard a stirring sound, and I turned around to see the small purple dragon begin to wake up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she let out a horrible scream of pain. She took us all by surprise, and I rushed to the dragnet's side, trying to calm her and keep her from hurting herself. I managed to get her in a sort of headlock while Moorhen took a closer look at her leg. I looked at the small dragon in the eyes to try and talk her down, but there was one problem.

_"Where's papa? I want papa! Why do I hurt?!"_ she screamed in my head. She had the speaking ability of a toddler.

_"Shh, I know it hurts, but it will be better in a bit." _I tried to sooth her, but it wasn't working. She just kept calling for her papa and screaming about her leg. Most of the time, though, she was just talking gibberish.

_"Bloom, hold her still."_ I hadn't even realized that Shine had come out of her den. Shine looked at the sting, and then began to blow a small stream of fire over the wound. Shine taught me that some stings can be numbed by warmth because the heat destroys the reaction that causes pain. I guess it worked because the little dragon began to settle down.

_"Hello, my name is Bloom. What's your name?"_ I asked as began to calm down.

_"My name is ElegantCoral. My papa just calls me Ele."_ Her voice was just too cute, she sounded just like a four year old girl. Ele was about as tall as my knee, but she had a long sleek body and a rounded muzzle.

"It seems like Ele is a Current Dragon." Moorhen said.

_"A Current Dragon?"_ I have heard of water dragons, but not current dragons.

"Yes, current dragons are strong swimmers and prefer to live in turbulent waters or places in the ocean with strong currents. That is where they get their names. It's strange though, current dragons normally go to quieter waters to raise young, but where are her parents? They only have one or two eggs at a time, so the young normally stay close to their parents." Moorhen turned towards the entrance of the cave and looked in the direction of the lake.

I looked down to Ele to ask her about it, but she had fallen asleep again.

"She can stay with me tonight." I said, then I picked her up and carried her to Blitz's cave.

That night, I had a hard time sleeping. Ele would occasionally cry out in her sleep, so I would stroked her neck to calm her down. Ele wasn't keeping me awake though, I still had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something was telling me that I needed to do something, but what?

Suddenly, I knew what I needed to do. I'm not sure what changed, but my realization hit me like a train. I moved away from Ele, and left the cave. I made my way to Shine's cave and saw Mink sleeping just outside the entrance. I crept past him and followed the winding tunnel to Shine and Thana's cave.

_"Bloom, what are you doing here?"_ Shine asked me, she was surprised and probably a bit agitated. Thana wasn't here, he probably went out hunting.

"Forgive me for the intrusion, but I need to try something." I don't know if it was the conviction in my voice, but she turned her head in curiosity. She was holding her only daughter in her arms, and I cautiously approached the small body. Shine gave me a low warning growl as I reached my hand out to the dragnet, but I guess the look I gave her made her calm down a bit.

I placed my hand lightly on the little white dragons head and my hand began to glow. I felt my power flow through my arm and to the little dragon, and in mere seconds, the little dragon squealed in protest of being held. Shine gasped and began to check her daughter over.

_"Bloom..."_ she stared at me in awe. _"Thank you."_

I nodded my head lightly, and then the world went black.

I looked down on the nest of large eggs that Gale let me see. I was confused.

"Where are your babies?"

"In the eggs." the blurry mass behind me answered.

"Why?"

"Because that's just how they are."

"Oh, I hope they come out soon so I can play with them."

"That would be nice, but they can't come out too soon or they will be sick and weak."

I woke up in Shine's cave. Thana was standing over me worriedly, while Shine was calming her now energetic child.

_"Bloom, are you okay?"_

"What the heck? Why am I here?" the last thing I remember was being with Ele, so why am I here?

_"You came into our den late last night, did something to our daughter to heal her, and then passed out."_ Shine said worriedly. "maybe whatever you did just took too much energy."

"Hmm, maybe." I tried to think back to last night, but I couldn't focus.

_"Here, you are exhausted, I will take you back to your cave."_ Thana picked me up with his claws and carried me back to Blitz's cave. My heart stopped. I had walked into the small cave expecting to see a small purple dragon sleeping peacefully on a pile of moss, but she wasn't there.

_"Ele?!"_ I called for her, trying not to panic. _"Ele where are you?!"_

A thought hit me, but I at first wanted to check all of the caves. No, she didn't go back to the Lake did she?

When I was positive that she wasn't in any of the caves, I took off full speed towards the lake. I had somehow only managed to wake Mink, but he immediately went to Shine's cave to tell Thana what was going on. I was completely exhausted, but I needed to find Ele.

As I reached the forest, I saw Ele standing on the shore. I rushed over to her, but her eyes were fixed on the lake. She was trembling and cowering on the ground, but still stared out at the lake. I knelt down and picked her up. I looked out at the lake where she was looking just as something was thrown out of the water.

The sun was just rising above the horizon, and the light of dawn glinted faintly off of the smooth translucent thing that had been thrown onto a tree nearby. A massive jelly fish was now impaled on the top of a tree.

A roar split the quiet morning air, and I turned around to see a massive, adult current dragon was locked in combat with another jelly fish.

_"PAPA!"_ Ele screamed as the dark blue dragon was pulled under the water. Now that I knew what to look for, I realized that there were a ton of jelly fish around where the dragon went under. He is going to die. The jellyfish are going to overwhelm him, and he is going to die.

I dropped Ele, transformed, and flew above where the jellyfish were. I began firing shots at everything that move that wasn't the dragon. Suddenly, a tentacle shot out of the water and wrapped around my arm. I screamed in pain as it stung my arm. I struggled to free myself from its grasp, but to no avail. It began to pull me down to the mass of jellyfish that were still focusing on the dragon.

My vision began to fade and my arm went numb. A massive roar split the air. Now, I have heard dragon roars before, but nothing like this booming, powerful sound. I felt talons wrap around me, pulling me out of the jellyfish's grasp, and then the lake was on fire. I know dragons can control the amount of fire they breathe, but this was insane. The fire had been a straight red beam until It hit the water surface, then it was like an atomic bomb went off. Steam was pouring off the surface of the lake and multiple jellyfish were still on fire. I watched as a red mass swooped down and pulled the blue dragon out of the lake.

I felt myself be carefully placed onto the beach, but I couldn't move. My entire body was numb, and I was completely exhausted.

_"It's okay to sleep. You're save now."_ A soft, yet powerful voice entered my head.

_"But Ele and the other dragon…"_

_"They will be fine, I promise."_ The voice said as I slipped into darkness.


	7. Dragon's Bane

Dragon's Bane

Sky's Pov

It has been almost a week since I left Red Fountain. I talk to the guys every once in a while, but I still can't get hold of Bloom. Her adoptive parents say that her old friend is keeping her really busy, and that's good, but I miss her.

My father and I have been speaking with our generals, and we have come to realize that this little rebellion is now a full blown civil war. The rebels and our armies seem to be equal in strength, but not in numbers. We out number them two to one, but they always end up taking us by surprise somehow and getting the upper hand. We are equal in wins and losses in small skirmishes, but we are superior in bigger fights.

It seems that this war is just going to take time. Time that none of us have. Every moment that we fight, people die. People die on the rebel's side, and people die on our side. We have tried repeatedly to have talks with them, but all they say is that I need to surrender the crown of Eraklyon. They won't meet with us, won't explain why, and don't seem to care that their own men are dying by the minute.

We have recently sent a request that the rebels explain why I should give up the crown, but no response has come. My father, three of our top generals, and for some reason Diaspro, and I are in a meeting discussing what to do next. It is clear that they are not going to give up by show of forces, but maybe if we can figure out where the leader or leaders are, we can put an end to this. We were not even ten minutes into the meeting when a messenger came in with a letter.

"Who did this come from, and why do you think this is important enough to interrupt a private meeting?" Diaspro demanded.

"It… came from the rebels." The messenger gasped for breath.

I grabbed the letter, tore it open, and read the single line on the paper:

You are not related to a True King!

Bloom's POV

Someone was speaking. The voice is not familiar, but I hear someone speaking to someone else. My head is so fuzzy, I can't think straight. Something moved, and I suddenly felt something cool on my forehead. I can't stay awake. I feel my body be dragged into darkness.

I woke up again, but kept my eyes closed. I has a massive headache, and I couldn't even feel my arm.

"Bloom?" a voice called my name. "I know you are awake, and I need you to open your eyes for me so I can make sure you are okay."

I forced my eyes open. My eyes were out of focus and blurry, so I blinked a few times. I finally opened them again and looked to my side. A medium sized teal and green was sitting right next to me.

"Can you lift your right arm for me?" she asked. I barely was able to lift my arm from the bed I was resting on. _Wait a moment. Why am I on a bed?_ On closer inspection, I found that I was just laying on top of a large fur blanket and covered by another made from silk on a large flat rock.

"Hmm, let me try this." The dragon moved to her head to the side and I could now see her more clearly. She had no wings, a line of fur or hair that went from the top of her head and down her back all the way to her tail, and…Two, four, six, eight… TWELVE LEGS?!

"Here, this may feel a bit cold." The dragon took my arm and began to smear something cold on it. I shivered as the cold, thick liquid was spread in a circular pattern on my arm. The dragon then wrapped my arm in some kind of gauze, and laid it across my stomach.

"We nearly lost you, you know," the dragon said. "you are lucky Thanatos was able to get to you before you sustained permanent injuries. You may have a scar, but nothing else."

"Who are you?"

"Me?" the dragon pointed to herself. "Well, I am CloudChaser, but you may call me Cloud. I am a healer for King Enti."

"Why are you here if you work for King Enti?"

"You will see after you get some rest." She placed something over my eyes, and I quickly fell asleep.

When I woke up again, Cloud was gone. My arm felt numb, but I could now move it better than before. My headache had dulled to a small throbbing feeling at my temples, but other than that, I felt alright.

I laid there for what seemed like ages, but the dragon didn't come back. I got bored real quick, and I decided to go look for someone. I pulled the blanket over me off and found that I didn't have a shirt on. Or a bra for that matter. I covered myself with the blanket again, and looked around for my shirt. I found my shirt a little ways away from my makeshift bed, but I found that it was torn to shreds when I picked it up. I frantically looked for my backpack, which I had another shirt in, but I couldn't find it.

I stood up, wrapped the silk blanket around myself, and left the cave I was in slowly. I was only half way out of the cave when I was tackled by a golden blur. I screamed in pain as I hit the ground. My back felt like it was on fire and could barely breathe. Suddenly, Cloud was by my side and checking me over. She pulled the blanket away from me and I immediately covered myself.

"Oh quit that. How am I supposed to find out what is wrong if you will not let me see?" She huffed and pulled my arms out. That was when I noticed the seven other dragons staring at me.

_"Oh Bloom, I'm sorry!"_ Minx lowered his head.

"It's okay. You didn't know." I reached out and stroked his muzzle with one arm and tried to cover myself with the other.

"Hmm, the bruises may stick with you for some time. I am sure Thanatos did not mean to do as much damage as he did." Cloud said and handed me my blanket back which I quickly covered myself with.

_"Bloom,"_ Thanatos walked over to me with his head down_. "I am so sorry. I panicked when I saw you in the grasp of the jellyfish, and I pulled you away too harshly."_

"It's fine, really. I probably would be dead right now if you didn't grab me." I honestly don't remember Thana pulling me away from the jellyfish, but by the look on his face, I guess he did.

"Now Bloom, there is someone you have been very worried about here." Moorhen called from behind Thana.

"Bloom, are you alright now? I am so sorry you were worried about me." a Fey Dragon approached me. It was Blitz.

"Blitz, you're back!" I pulled the little dragon into a hug and he wrapped his tail around my waist. Big mistake. The dragon's tail touched my back and I recoiled so badly, Blitz and Thana jumped back.

"Sorry, I forgot!" Blitz said quickly.

"Okay, to everyone here, I AM FINE. Just a bit sore." I chuckled through the pain running up my spine.

"Be careful girl, you have deep bruises and healing ribs. And your arm is still feeling the effects of the Jellyfishes poison, you need to take it easy for some time." Cloud said, clearly irritated.

"May I see the girl who helped my daughter please?" a deep voice came from behind Thanatos.

Thana stepped away and a deep blue dragon stepped forward towards me. I didn't recognize him at first, but then I remembered. This was the dragon that was fighting with the jellyfish hoard.

I was stung once for I don't know how long, and I still can't entirely feel my arm, but he seemed alright. He was covered in marks from the tentacles, and had a bit of a limp, but other than that, he was fine. Well, more than fine. He was one of the most gorgeous dragons I have ever seen. His scales were a deep blue and his wings were a light teal. His sleek body and matured fins and wings gave him a powerful yet graceful look. Even with the deep bruises and gashes from his jellyfish fight held nothing against his looks.

"My name is River, and I must thank you for taking care of my Ele while I was not there. I am also grateful for your help in my skirmish. I would be dead now if you didn't come help." He bowed his head to me.

"Anyone would have helped." I said.

"Sadly, that is not true, young girl." A powerful voice said. Wait a moment, I know that voice. "Many sky and land dragons are not fond of river dwelling dragons."

River stepped aside and I saw the biggest dragon I think I have ever seen. He was covered in golden and blood red scales, and his back was lined with wicked looking spines. Thanatos may be tall, and Basalt may be thick and muscular, but they didn't have anything on this massive dragon. Thana had to lower his head a little to avoid hitting his head on the cave ceiling, but he needed to bend his neck down to avoid his horns from catching on the ceiling.

"I am King Enti, and I have heard much about you from your friends over the course of these four days." He said. "It is an honor to meet you."

"I-I should be the one to say that," I stumbled. I quickly stood up and did a horrible curtsy.

"Now, I have heard much about you, and I do know your name, but I believe that we should introduce ourselves properly."

"Sorry," I quickly bowed again. But he gave me a look that said, 'Don't do that.' "My name is Bloom."

King Enti moved towards me and lowered his massive head. He gave me a reassuring look, and I placed my hand on his snout. I felt something inside me move. Not something physical, but something deep inside my being. Inside my dragon fire. Like something just woke up.

"Bloom," King Enti moved back and tried to stand at his full height. "You have the great dragon's fire inside you, but it is untamed and frail. I wish to offer you a way to tame your inner dragons."

"Dragons?" I only have the dragon flame.

"Yes, Dragons. I will go into more detail only if you accept and come with me to my palace."

This was moving way too fast. What about Thana, Mink, and the entire clan? "I… I don't know. I would love to train with you, but…" I tried to find the right words to say

"I know this is a lot to take in. How about this, I see that there are four dragonets here, and their parents plan to take them to a nursery nearby when they're old enough. My mate, Shadowflame is with her young at the nursery that they chose to go to, so when the dragonets are ready to go, you can go with them and give me your answer then."

"…Okay, thank you King Enti." I bowed again. "When will the dragonets be ready to go?"

"In four weeks." Moorhen answered.

Four weeks seemed to fly by. The dragonets grew faster than I thought. One day, they were as tall as my knee, and now they are at my waist. River decided to stay with us and go the nursery to raise Ele without the threat of the Jellyfish. There were now eight adult dragons and six young-lings living together under one roof. If I was in danger of getting crushed before, living here turned into a death wish. I was constantly dodging tails and feet.

It also turns out that I was asleep for three days, and in those three days, the babies got into Blitz' small cave and got to my backpack of clothes. They chewed them to shreds. So now I am walking around in some fabric around my chest and a pair of ripped shorts. I was at first a bit self-conscious because it showed off the scars on my leg, but none of the dragons ever said anything about them. Also, the places on my arm where the jellyfish got me scared up really nicely, adding to my growing collection of scars that I am embarrassed of.

It was the morning that we were to leave for the nursery. I woke up early to help Sora with her young. The plan was for Basalt and Thana to carry the young on their backs while Sora and Shine made sure they didn't try to fly too early. Ele was already big enough to fly short distances, so River allowed her to fly next to him for most of the trip until she tired out.

I rode on Mink's back for our trip. I was originally supposed to ride Thanatos, but Mink was adamant to carry me. We flew for about three hours straight before taking a small break by a stream.

_"We will rest here for a time, and then fly the rest of the way."_ Thana said.

Ele had flown the entire time, but she was now completely exhausted. The babies on the other hand, were as energetic as ever. They chased each other around the adults and splashed in the stream. I was charged with watching them since the others were resting.

"Careful everyone, we don't want you hurt before you get to your new home." I laughed as they rough housed together. Shine and Thanatos decided to name their daughter Ayah because it means miracle. Sora and Basalt named their oldest boy was named Magma, for his fiery nature and color, their second son was named Greyfall, because of his color and his uncanny ability to have everyone trip over him, and their daughter was named Brightfire, because of her color and curiosity.

I watched as they frolicked in the shallows, but suddenly, something felt wrong. I remembered this feeling. It was the same feeling when I met Ele. I began looking over the water, looking for something out of the ordinary, but I didn't see anything.

I looked over to the babies, still playing without a care in the world, when a shadow fell over me. I whirled around to see a dark figure disappear into the ground. I had no idea what it was, but I wasn't going to wait and find out.

"Babies!" I called to the dragonets. "Let's go back to the others." I ushered them back to the adults, who gave me a strange look.

"What's wrong?" Shine asked.

"I saw something go into the ground by the stream. I don't know what it was, but I wasn't going to take a chance." I explained.

Thana quickly got up and followed me to where I saw the creature while the dragonets stayed with the others. I showed him the hole, and he bent his head down to examine it.

_"This is not good."_ He mumbled _"This hole smells of death worms. We need to leave now."_ I climbed onto his back and we returned to the others, but it was too late.

Three death worms had surrounded the others. Sora and Basalt were fighting back with all of their strength, but something was wrong. They were not as coordinated and made unplanned attacks. Then, I saw it.

In one of the death worm's mouth was the body of a small dark red and brown dragonet. It was Magma. They had killed Magma.

Something inside me snapped. I don't even remember transforming, but there I was flying above the worms, blasting spell after spell at the worms. They retreated quickly at the sudden bombardment, but I wasn't done yet.

I dived down one of their tunnels and followed the worm that had Magma in its mouth. The tunnel was insanely long, but it opened up into a large cave with a network of other tunnels leading to it. I blasted a final spell at it; a spell I didn't even know I knew.

"DRAGON'S BANE!" I roared. Flames erupted from my hands. I watched as they melded together in the shape of a dragon and crashed onto the head of the worm. It was killed instantly.

All of the other death worms fled the tunnel as I landed next to the worm and pulled Magma from its jaws. A large section of his back was gone, probably swallowed by the worm. I cradled his head in my arms and sobbed quietly. My sudden adrenaline rush was gone. I was completely exhausted and the only light in the room came from the still burning Death worm I killed. I was lost.


	8. Nursery

Nursery

I must have accidently fallen asleep down in the tunnels, because one moment, I close my eyes, and once I finally opened them, I was surrounded by four death worms. They had circled the worm I killed and were making a quiet hissing sound. I pulled Magma closer to me. I still can't believe he's gone.

Magma was both the oldest and biggest of his clutch, and he was the most likely to survive. It must have been horrible to watch him be taken by the death worm. How am I going to face Sora and tell her how I couldn't save her son?

Something began to pull on his tail; it was one of the death worms. I raised my hand and readied a spell to scare it off, but then I realized something. The four death worms surrounding the one I killed were babies. Tears once again to fill my eyes as I realized what I did.

I just killed a parent who was just trying to feed its children.

I looked down to the small dragonet's cold body that I still held in my arms, and let it go. Their parent was never going to come back, and it was my fault. The least I could do was feed them what their parent caught for them.

I stood up and turned away as the little worms began feeding. I need to find a way out of here, but I can't remember where I came from. Did I get here from one of the higher tunnels or a lower one, one from my left or to my right? I just don't know.

"Look out below!" I heard someone bellow from the top of the cave. I looked up just in time to see a fountain of water blast down from one of the tunnels.

"Oh no!" I flew up to get out of the way, but the baby death worms were still eating and didn't even notice the torrent heading there way. I quickly swooped down and cast a spell that made the worms float out of the way of the rushing water. They squealed in protest as I dragged them from their meal, but they quickly stopped once they noticed the water below them. I carefully placed the baby worms in a higher tunnel that had no signs of water in it and watched them disappear into the darkness.

"You must be crazy girl. To be down in a flood chamber with the death worm like this!" a voice scoffed "If you didn't have wings you would have drowned."

I looked up to see a dragon looking down on me from where the water came from. He was dark brown with blue eyes, and he had no wings.

"My name is Bloom, who are you?" I asked

"The name's Clay. What's a human girl like you doing down here?"

I flew closer to Clay and quickly explained what happened. He sat on his hind legs and crossed his forearms as he listened to my story.

"…I see. You have learned a lesson then, right?"

"Yes, I have." I sighed "I will never do something like that again."

"Never say never girl. One day, you may be forced to do something similar to what has happened today. Now follow me, I will lead you out of the caves and to the nursery. My mate and sons are actually there now and I wouldn't mind visiting them." Clay turned in the small tunnel and I began to follow

"Are males not allowed to stay there? In the nursery I mean." I asked

"It is not recommended for fear of overcrowding, and who is to hunt for the young? Males normally stay out of the nursery and go hunting to bring back food for their mates and young."

Suddenly, I began to feel dizzy. I landed and fell to my knees. My vision began to fade and my ears began to ring. In the distance, I heard Clay saying something to me, but I couldn't understand him. All I could do was curl into a ball and wait as my world faded to black.

I opened my eyes to see nothing but blue. I opened my mouth and sighed as I realized I was dreaming, but was startled when bubbles came out of my mouth. I was under water. I looked down to see the sandy land not far from my feet.

I reached down with my feet and felt my toes sink into the sand. I giggled as some colorful fish passed by me.

_Hello Bloom. It has been some time._

The familiar voice of the silver dragon sent ripples through the water. I turned around to see her silver scales shining beautifully in the blue tinted light.

"It has, hasn't it? I missed you." I whispered as I wrapped my arms around her neck.

_There is much I need to speak about but we have little time, so listen carefully._ I looked her in the eyes and nodded my head slowly.

_The spell you used called Dragon's Bane is a powerful spell that you must never use unless the situation is dire. The spell is almost guaranteed to destroy or kill whatever it touches. If used too much, it can even kill its user, and that cannot happen. You are already feeling its effects right now._

"But I feel fine. A little tired, but fine." I said

_You shall see when you wake up. Now, what have you learned from Magma's death?_

"That I shouldn't be so quick to act."

_Precisely. It is a fact of nature that some will die and others shall survive and others will die, no matter how cruel it may be. It is a fact of life to hunt and be hunted. It may seem unfair, and in the world of dragons, you may lose many friends, but it is the natural way._

"Even if it is the natural way, I won't not try to save my friends." I said

_And I would never ask you not to, but do not kill the one who attacked your dragon friends because you never know the reason._

Just as she finished speaking, I felt myself begin to wake up. I held onto her neck, not wanting to go, but she pushed me away gently.

I cracked open my eyes slightly. Large shapes were rushing about in front of me, but I couldn't move. My entire body felt like it was on fire and I was so weak, I couldn't even lift a finger. I recognized Clay's voice, but there were many others that sounded familiar but I couldn't place them. I closed my eyes again and tried to wait out the pain.

When I opened my eyes again, I was alone in a cave. I looked around to see that the cave was filled with moss and there was a small pool nearby filled with crystal clear water. My body still hurt, but my need for water won out over my tiredness. I was wrapped in a fur blanket, and when I removed it, I found I was completely naked. I wrapped myself with it again and crawled to the pool.

I filled my cupped hands with the cool liquid and brought it to my dry lips. I sighed with relief as the water seemed to fill me with new energy. Once I quenched my thirst, I spottes a pile of river berries next to a folded cloth. I ate the berries slowly, savoring each and every one, and looked over the cloth. The cloth turned out to be a simple dress, and under it were two boots. The dress was made of a fine silk and it was red with a single strap. The boots were black and knee length, and had leather, adjustable straps around them.

"It's yours now, you know." I turned around to see Cloud standing in the entrance of the cave "You can put it on if you'd like."

I slipped on the clothes and adjusted the boots. They may be simple, but they were the comfiest clothes I have ever worn.

"Thank you Cloud. How did I get here?" I asked as she approached me

"A drake named Clay brought you to the nursery while you were passed out and screaming on his back. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with you, but after a while, you simply stopped. Now, WHAT IN THE NAME OD THE GREAT DRAGON DID YOU DO TO YOUR SELF!" she roared at me

"I used a spell that took a little-" Cloud glared at me "Okay, a lot out of me. I have learned my lesson and I will never do it again."

"What spell was it?"

"Dragon's Bane"

Cloud seemed shocked. "That spell is forbidden in draconic magic, so how do you know it?"

"I don't know, I just knew it and now I am never going to use it again."

"Good, now, King Enti is waiting for you along with Thanatos' clan." She leaded me out of the cave and I nearly tripped at the sheer beauty of my surroundings.

We were on some kind of giant, Hollow Mountain that was filled with forests and three water falls that I could see. Sunlight streamed through the opening at the top of the mountain.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Cloud chuckled "Now, come. Enti and his family are waiting."

Cloud led me through the underbrush where I saw too many different kinds of dragonets to count. This was the perfect place to raise young. There were no predators, there was always two or three adults around, and the young always had someone to play with.

We climbed up one of the rocky cliff paths that led to multiple caves which was where I guessed the dragons slept, and Cloud led me to the highest cave. I moved some of the hanging ivy and was met by a decent sized blood red dragon that looked similar to Enti

"Who are you?" she snarled

"Peril, this is Bloom. She is here to see Enti." Cloud answered and passed her by

"Bloom, it is good to see that you are better now. You really gave us all quite the scare." Enti came up behind the dragon called Peril and greeted me warmly "I would like you to meet my mate, ShadowFlame, and our eldest daughter PerilousBlaze." Enti beckoned to the black and green dragon laying in the back of the cave and then to the red dragon next to him

"So, have you considered my offer?" he asked

"Yes, and I would love to train with you, but I need to find Thana and the others first." I answered "We got separated on our way here."

"I heard. I sent Peril and some other scouts to find you, but a dragon named Clay brought you here two days ago and we all thought you were dying." He shivered "Your screams were heart wrenching to all who heard them."

"I'm sorry if I disturbed anyone."

"It's fine. Everyone was worried about you after I explained who you are and were all relieved once you seemed to be getting better." He said "Now, I would like to leave tomorrow morning for the palace, so let's go find your clan."

It didn't take long for Enti and I to find Thana and the others, and just like always, Mink was the first to greet me.

"_BLOOM!" _he cried _"We thought you were dead!"_

"I'm fine. Just a bit shaken up." I laughed as Mind nuzzled my cheek

"Did you get him?" a voice I had been dreading to hear asked "Did you get my son?"

I turned to see Sora and her two dragonets gazing at me while Basalt stood back, staring at nothing.

"Sora… I'm so sorry. I was gone by the time that I got to him." I couldn't look at her or Magma's siblings. Greyfall and Brightfire came up to me and I rubbed their heads softly. They probably didn't understand what happened and why Magma wasn't here, but they knew something was wrong. Ayah also approached me cautiously, but began to make a small rumble in her throat when I scratched behind her chin.

"It isn't your fault. If anything, you saved all of our young by bringing them back to us." Shine said quietly "I can't thank you enough for healing our daughter when she was weak, and now you have saved her a second time. I am forever in your debt."

The others quickly agreed with Shine and thanked me in turn, even though I didn't deserve it. Enti gave his condolences to Sora and Basalt and he even greeted Grey and Bright, but the look in his eye told me that it was time for us to go.

"Thana, everyone, I can't thank you enough for your hospitality while I stayed with you. I will be going with Enti to train with him now, and I'm not sure when we will see each other again, but I will find a way to pay you back." I said after a moment

"You have already paid us back tenfold. We are the ones that are in need of paying you back." River said as Ele ran up to me to say goodbye.

I wiped away a tear and climbed on Enti's broad back. I fest his strong wings lift us upward, towards the opening in the top of the mountain. I looked back and waved as Thana and his clan disappeared from sight. Peril and Cloud followed us out as well.

I was sad to leave, but something deep inside me told me it was the right thing to do.

"My training is going to be tough, but it will be well worth it if you survive." Enti called back to me

"Okay, when do we start?" I asked, trying to not sound too nervous

"As soon as we get to the Sky Palace." Cloud shouted over the wind

"What's the Sky Palace-" I was cut off as we finally climbed over the clouds and came into full view of a gorgeous flying mass.


	9. Sky Kingdom

Sky Kingdom

The giant, gorgeous, flying mass in the sky ended up being the most beautiful castle I have ever seen in my life. It looked like it was suspended upside down with its lowest tower just barely showing below the clouds. It had gorgeous white and gold walls and even though we were still pretty far away, I could see the detailed outer walls decorated with images of a long, two armed dragon wrapped around the main tower.

Just as we got close, Enti and the others stopped. We stayed in one place for a moment, and then Enti suddenly dropped down with his wings close to his sides. We dropped down about fifty feet before he snapped his wings out and turned around to just barely clip a golden wyvern who was following us.

"Mink, what are you doing here?!" I yelled over the wind.

"I wanted to come along," he turned to Enti. "If it's okay with you of course."

Enti thought for a moment. "Of course you may come with her. It would be good for her to have someone familiar around."

Enti made a wuffing sound, and then turned around back towards the floating, upside down castle. It took all of two minutes to reach it, and as we got closer, the sheer size and beauty of the palace sparked something in my memory.

Suddenly, my head began to feel like someone was hitting it with a sledge hammer, and my chest felt like it was on fire. I screamed as unfamiliar voices surrounded me.

_"Empress, is it too your liking?"_

_"Empress, how will your powers make it fly?"_

_"Empress, how will you fit through some of the smaller halls?"_

_"Empress?" "Empress?!" "Empress!"_

I closed my eyes and held my head in my hands. What are these voices? Who is the Empress? Why is this happening to me?! In the corner of my mind, I heard Cloud, Enti, and Mink calling for me. There was a blinding light, and then, everything was silent.

…All of the voices… They disappeared as suddenly as they appeared. I opened my eyes slowly and found myself… I don't know where this is. I looked around… and found nothing. I was in some kind of Black void. Suddenly, I felt something behind me. I turned around and saw something massive heading for me. It looked like a stream of fire, but it moved like the Chinese dragons I saw in China.

As I came closer, I felt something in me move. There was a bright light, and my dragon fire erupted out of my chest. My dragon danced around me, as if it was trying to copy the fiery mass that was lazily moving towards me.

My dragon suddenly looked out towards the mass, and stopped moving. The mass quickly passed by me, but not before I got a good look at its eye. Its massive, rainbow hued eye. It looked at me for a split second, and I felt like I was being drawn towards it, but I felt something rip at my side. I looked down to see bruises rapidly forming around my stomach. I cried out in pain as I felt my ribs crack and my spine moved unnaturally to the side. My dragon quickly retreated back inside me, and I felt myself pass out.

My eyes opened slowly, but everything was blurry, so I closed them again. My side ached and I didn't know where I was, but all I could focus on was the eye. I have never seen a rainbow eye before, but it felt so familiar. I opened my eyes again and took in my surroundings.

I was in a white room on some kind of massive bed. There were multiple fur and silk blankets lining the bed and I felt some kind of silk pillow under my head and below my back. The bed was surrounded by a silvery see-through curtain that opened up slightly at the end of the large, half circle bed. Behind the curtain, light streamed through what seemed like a window that led to a balcony. I heard the sound of a door opening, and I saw something come out of the door that was probably the entrance of the room. It made its way to the opening of the curtains, and I saw that it was Cloud.

"Bloom, I'm so glad you are awake." She climbed onto the bed and helped me sit up. I winced as she stacked pillows and blankets behind me and propped myself up. "Now, how are you feeling?"

My mouth was so dry, I didn't think I could answer, so I used my mind. _"Thirsty and sore."_

"You are lucky you are alive." She said as she opened one of the glass bottles she was holding in her many hands and held it to my lips. I sighed as the cool water filled my parched mouth and soothed my throat. After a moment, she pulled the bottle away and my face twisted in protest.

"I do not want you to overdo it. You have been asleep for two days so your stomach is probably completely empty. Here." She made a whistling sound and a small fey dragon darted to Cloud's side. Blitz is a fey dragon as well, and he was only as long as my fore arm, but this dragon was only slightly bigger than my hand. "Leaf, can you tell Enti and the others that she is awake and ask the black one to bring down some food?"

"Of course, Cloud." Leaf turned to me. "it is good to see that you are awake and well Bloom." She dipped her head to me and then zipped off.

Cloud must have noticed my curiosity. "They are called Swallowtail Fey dragons. They are fast fliers and have an above average memory and attention to detail. They are small though and easy prey for those who are faster than them, so they hang around larger dragons and act as messengers for larger dragons. Basically, they trade services for protection and food." She explained.

"Oh, that makes sense." I said, then I realized something. "Cloud, where am I?"

"You are in the Sky Palace. It was originally built for the Great Dragon, but she passed away not long after and was given to the Sky King for safe keeping." Cloud sighed suddenly. "It is said that the Great dragon is to be reborn sometime soon and inherit the castle and the Throne of Magix, but…"

"…But she hasn't returned and you are beginning to worry." I finished.

"Yes, it is said that once the Dragon Flame stops being passed down, it will signal the rebirth of Great Dragon, but it continues to transfer from person to person. You seem more in touch with the power though, as if you depend on it and it depends on you."

"What does that mean?" I asked startled.

"Have you ever had your powers taken away or have used it enough that you are too tired to move?"

"Yeah, once I shared my Flame with my friends, and it took a while to really effect me, but I could barely move and my chest hurt really badly." I said remembering what happened at Daphne's coronation.

"You lost a large portion of your power, power that you depend on for survival. Something may have happened to you that made you so dependent on your power, or… How young were you when you inherited the Dragon Flame?"

"I wasn't that old…" I stopped to think. "I may have only been a few days old at the most. Domino was destroyed not long after I was born, Daphne may have given it to me just before I was sent to earth."

Cloud seemed shocked. "Only a few days old? Well, no wonder you are so dependent on it, you have had it for a long time."

"I only learned I had this power when I was sixteen though. My dad said that he saw some traces of my power when he found me, but they disappeared and didn't show up until I met Stella, my friend." I explained.

"They were only dormant because of how young you were and the lack of magical influence you had. Normally, children try to imitate their older models and peers, but you had none to teach you how to actually test your abilities and flex your powers. They must have been pretty explosive once you found them, right?" she chuckled.

"Sometimes. Sometimes, they wouldn't even work and other times, everyone in a five mile radius needed to watch out and be ready to run at a moment's notice." I began to laugh.

Big mistake. I cried out in pain and Cloud quickly pulled down my blanket and checked me over. I was naked again. _What is her problem with me wearing clothes when I'm hurt?_

"Umm, Cloud?" I stammered. "Where are my clothes?"

"Oh, they were getting in the way of me checking your ribs and spine. Mink kind of ripped them as well, but there is a full closet of clothes that are surprisingly your exact size. There are some that are plain and others are more decorated. Do you what me to grab you one?" Cloud asked.

"A simple one please." I answered.

She disappeared through the bed curtains and came back with a bright red dress. She helped me out of bed and I slowly put it on. It was fairly simple looking, but it took a long time to get on. It was just an opened back dress with shoulders, but I was still really stiff and sore, so I took a while. Cloud led me to the door and opened it for me. I found that there were steps right at the foot of the door, and there was another door only ten steps up.

"The room is lower than the hall so it can have a balcony. There are many other rooms like this, but this is the biggest room and the only one with a closet full of clothes. It seemed like a good fit for you, especially since so few dragons can get through the small door." Cloud explained.

Just as Cloud reached for the door handle, the door opened. A black dragon that was standing on too feet and holding a tray of food. He seemed a little shocked.

"I thought you asked for food," He said.

"Oh dear. I completely forgot. Here." Cloud pulled me back into the room and sat me down at a little table. "Can you stay with her while she eats so I can find her friend?"

"Of course." He dipped his head and squatted down beside me. He was over three feet tall over me, but he had the build of a human. He had medium sized wings that were pulled in closely to his back and he had a long tail that had a wicked looking blade on the end.

"Umm, you can sit down." I motioned to the chair across form me. He seemed a bit surprised, but he slowly took a seat. "What's your name?"

"I do not have one my lady." He answered simply.

"Why don't you have a name?" I asked shocked.

"I am the last of a disliked kind of dragon. My mother didn't give me a name, and the dragon who raised me didn't give me one either. She even gave me this." He pointed to the large cross shaped scar across his chest that I was trying not to stare at.

"Oh, well then… We need to think of a name for you then." I said cheerfully.

He looked at me like he was surprised that I would even consider such a thing. "You would name me?"

"Everyone should have a name, but what should I call you until we think of one?" I asked.

"Everyone calls me 'The Black One.'"

"Well then, I'll call you Bo." He seemed confused. "Black starts with B and One starts with O, and if you put them together, you get Bo." I explained as I ate.

"Oh, well then, I shall now be called Bo." He seemed pleased at this, but tried to stay serious.

We talked back and forth for a while, I even tried to share my food with him, but he refused saying that he already ate this morning and he was not hungry.

Cloud returned after a while and she led me and Bo through the winding halls and too a large pair of doors guarded by two large wyverns.

They open the doors for us and we enter what appears to be a large throne room. Enti, Peril, and Mink were apparently waiting for us. Mink happily rushed up to me

"Hi…Boom…Iz lern to tk." He stammered.

"He is trying to learn to talk." Peril said, she seemed a bit agitated.

"Oh, well you are doing good, just keep practicing!" I chuckled and rubbed Mink's snout.

"How are you doing, Bloom?" Enti asked.

"Okay I guess."

"What happened to you? One moment you were fine, and the next, you were screaming in pain and plummeting to the ground. You were lucky Mink was fast enough to catch you or else…" Peril trailed off.

"I honestly don't know. There were these weird voices in my head and, suddenly I was in some kind of void with this massive mass of fire with rainbow colored eyes." I explained quickly.

"What were the voices saying?" Enti asked after a moment.

"They were calling out to an Empress, asking her questions and screaming for her." I said, trying to remember all of what they were saying.

"Hmm, I have not heard of an empress in Magix for a while… I will look into it while you start your training." Enti said.

"What kind of training are you talking about exactly?" I asked, still conscious about my still aching body.

"Physical, mental, and magical," Enti said.

"What will we start with?" I asked.

"Mental of magical. From what Cloud tells me, you still need some recovery time. You can also get to know some of the dragons here and your way around. I see you have already gained the trust of this one." He motioned to Bo.

"King Enti…" Bo began. "I wish to be called Bo until lady Bloom and I find a name for me…"

Everyone seemed a bit shocked at Bo's new name, but then everyone seemed pleased.

"Good for you Bo!" Enti chuckled.

"Now bloom, training will be harsh and unforgiving, are you sure you want to undertake this?" Enti asked me.

"Yes, I am sure." I answered confidently.

"Then training begins tomor-" He receives a glare from Cloud. "-As soon as Cloud says you can."

I was excited to start, but then again, I wasn't aware of the hell I was about to put myself through.


	10. Training

Training BR

Training

Today is the start of mental training. Cloud gave me two extra days to recover before I was supposed to dive into training. My first week is going to be dedicated to reading, writing, and deciphering old draconian books and runes. After that, I will be working on puzzles and once I am cleared by Cloud, I will start Physical and Magical training, which will involve flying, fighting, agility, and strength.

I was really excited to start this, maybe I will finally figure out how I can automatically read ancient draconian. Cloud said that my teacher will be someone very special. Someone that I am required to meet for some reason, but she won't tell me who or why my teacher is so important. Bo and Mink met me outside of my room this morning, and they kind of gawked at my outfit.

I finally looked through the closet full of clothes and found that most of them were made of some of the most expensive fabrics I had ever seen. I didn't even know some of them even existed, and that's saying something since I live with Stella for most of the year for over six years now. The dress I chose for today was simple, but beautiful. It was golden and had a light blue cape and belt. There were even some light blue and gold boots to go with them.

"Come, we don't want to keep your new teacher waiting." Bo stammered, looking away from me.

"Loks gut Blom." Mink stammered. _"Looks good Bloom."_

The three of us made our way through the halls of the Sky Palace and to the gigantic library where I was supposed to meet my teacher. Two large dragons pushed open the doors for us as we reached the library, and what I saw, was the most beautiful dragon I have ever seem. Now River is gorgeous, but he held nothing against the massive beauty in front of me.

She was a water dragon, without a doubt. She had two large fins lining her long, thin back and all the way down her tail which sported a long broad fin at its end. Her incredibly long body was light blue and her fins were a deep cerulean. She held herself in a kind of regal and commanding way. She looked to me and I saw that she had pearls embedded in between her scales on her long neck. She even had a kind of coral necklace with a large pink purple pearl at its center.

"So, you must be the infamous Bloom, it is a pleasure to meet you." Her voice rang clearly through the large library. "I am Queen Abyss, Ruler of the water dragons. I shall be teaching you how to read and write in both ancient and modern draconian."

She motioned to a large canvas in front of her and I sat down at a desk next to it.

"Um, Queen Abyss, can I ask you something?" I asked nervously.

"Please call me Abyss, and yes you can ask me anything." She said softly.

"Can you tell me if these are really Draconian symbols?" I pulled out my mini notebook which I somehow still had with me and showed her all of the symbols.

"…How do you know these?" she asked after a moment.

"I don't really know. Sometimes they just come to me, and other times, I have to make multiple attempts to get it right." I answered truthfully.

"These are ancient draconian symbols. They were a way to communicate before a functional writing system was created." She explained.

"How do they work?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Here." She dipped her claw in a bowl of ink and traced the symbol for 'Sun.' "You make the symbol or symbols and magically infuse your thoughts and ideas into them. A long time ago, every dragon and even most humans could read them. Sometimes beings would infuse entire chronicles in these symbols, but the ability to read them slowly died out."

She then proceeded to show me the modern draconic writings which were simple lines and dots. Some combinations were letters and some were sounds, and very few combinations were actual words. Well, more like names. Abyss showed me the combinations for the names of several planets.

I found it interesting though that some of the name symbols actually looked like words. For example, the combination for Domino looked similar to Forge, and Eraklyon strangely looked a lot like Armor. Abyss explained that there is a reason for that, but I will learn more about it when I learn about history.

"When will we start on history?" I asked her.

"Once your training in language and strength is over." Abyss said simply.

I don't know why, but I found that draconic writing and reading came really easy to me. It felt like I was just simply refreshing my memory. I learned so quickly, that Abyss moved onto the symbols that I, for some reason knew. A very select group of ancient dragons knew how to infuse them with ideas, so we simply moved onto just learning to read them.

Abyss pulled some old tablets out of the back of the library and placed them on the floor in front of me. There were so many symbols that I had never seen before, but as soon as I saw them, I knew what they meant.

"Here," Abyss placed one with a sun symbol in front of me. "Let's start with this one. Lightly run your fingers over the grooves in the tablet and close your eyes. Feel the energy that is dormant in the tablets. All it takes is a small pulse of energy to awaken the words trapped in the symbol."

I ran my fingers lightly over the ancient, but well-kept tablet and closed my eyes. I felt the energy in the tablet, but it wasn't moving. Somehow, I felt instinctively how much energy it took to awaken it. I sent some energy to the tablet, and words began to form in my mind.

"_The sun went dark today. I believe it is called an eclipse, but I don't know the symbol for it. It was very interesting, but I could not look at it for long without my eyes hurting."_

"I read it!" I said once I was sure that was all it had to say. Abyss smiled and then gave me another tablet to read.

We continued going back and forth between reading and writing both ancient and modern Draconian for the rest of the week, and by that time, I was fairly fluent in both. I still wasn't able to infuse thoughts into the symbols, but Abyss said that it doesn't matter since no one writes this way anymore anyways.

Next up is puzzles. I was supposed to meet Abyss in the library again, but she isn't here yet. What was there though, was a strange looking sphere. I picked it up, and found that it wasn't a solid sphere. It had multiple moving parts and I quickly realized that it was a puzzle. I sat down at a desk and began playing with it. Moving the pieces around, making little gears that you could see in between the cracks turn and click together. Then, I heard what sounded like cogs grinding together and something like a metal spring unwinding. Then the ball began to make a ticking sound every second. _OH CRAP!_ I resumed fiddling with the sphere, but probably ten times faster than before.

I retried everything I did before three times over and even found several other ways to make it move. Suddenly, the sphere split in half and the ticking stopped. I sighed in relief and looked inside. There were three river berries in it and a beautiful silver necklace with a heart shaped ruby as its main piece with other smaller rubies hanging around it.

"Do you like it?" Bo came up behind me. "I found it in the treasury and Enti agreed that you should wear it since it won't fit any of us."

"And I allowed him to hide in one of the puzzles we were to work on today. Originally I was just going to fill it with river berries, but the necklace was a much sweeter idea." Abyss dropped down from the ceiling, which scared the ever living daylights out of me.

"What were you doing up there?!" I gasped.

"Watching to see how you would handle the situation of an item turning into a potential bomb; You reacted well. You stayed relatively calm and worked through the problem with surprising speed and was able to solve it without dropping it and running." Abyss praised me. "Now, that one was relatively simple since it had no context, let us try something a bit harder…"

We ended up working on ouroboros puzzles all day which were basically puzzles to where you had to unravel a snake, make it move in an infinity pose, and make it eat its own tail. Abyss even let me start on symbol puzzles since I could fluently read them. They were basically a group of lines and you had to press them down in an order to find out the password and say it out loud to solve the puzzle.

I worked on all kinds of puzzles and practiced reading and writing for about a month before Enti finally said I was ready to work on Physical training. Which apparently I needed to train for my training, which meant I was to do pushups, pull ups, weight lifting, and basically anything that would make every muscle in my body burn in pain. I even found some muscles I had no idea I had! It was that Mink hung around with Peril enough for him to actually want to join the Sky dragon army.

…Why dragons have an army, I shall never understand… Peril, even though she is the daughter of King Enti and heir to the Sky throne, is one of the most respected generals in Enti's army. She told me that she at first wasn't taken seriously, but she worked hard and refused to let anyone favor her and gained the respect of just about everyone she crossed paths with. Now, Mink has a massive crush on Peril, and wanted to impress her, but he told me that it was a lot more personal than that.

Mink confessed that he wanted to join the army to protect others. He thought that he could learn to protect and save others so nothing like what happened to Magma would ever happen again. He even admitted that he wanted to join so that others won't be born without a mother because she died trying to protect them. I don't think I have ever had more respect for him than I have now.

"Another hard day you two?" Enti chuckled as Mink and I limped into the dining hall.

"Don't even start." I mumbled as I sat down on my massive pillow that acted as chairs for the large dining table.

"Bloom, after dinner, I need to speak with you." Enti said and I nodded my head.

Dinner normally consisted of a large plate of fruits and a massive carcass of some kind of animal. We don't have group dinner often since Dragons can go a couple days without eating, so I normally eat alone or someone will sit with me. Today, we were having fish and some fruit that looked like a banana, but it was smaller and green.

"So Mink, how is your guard training?" I asked.

"Gut, it hard doe." He mumbled over his piece of what I think is a whale.

"He is actually doing better than most, even for his age." Mink's eyes always lights up when Peril praises him. "He will make a fine warrior."

Mink has grown a lot from the time I first met him. He was only twice my size then, and now he is almost doubled in weight and height, and his spines and horns have grown out more. It is great living here, but the only thing I don't like is that I still can't go visit my friends. I haven't seen the Winx or the guys in almost four months, and I can't even go visit Thana and the others. I have befriended a lot of dragons here, but I really would like to visit the friends I had to leave me behind.

After dinner, Enti pulled me aside and led me to the Garden balcony near the center of the palace. "Bloom, there is something I need to ask you." Enti began.

"What is it?" I said as I knelt down to smell some of the flowers.

"There is a well-known frost wyvern by the name of Frozen Gale who is anxious to meet you, but the thing is…" He trailed off. "The thing is that she lives on Glacial, the harshest planet in this dimension, so none of us can accompany you, and you would need to complete ten times more training than you are doing right now to even attempt to visit her. They are in the middle of summer at the moment, but summer weather only means less storms. And it is still cold enough to instantly freeze water once the air touches it."

"Oh… Well then, I need to start working harder. I've been having… Dreams of a dragon that I called Gale, and after everything I've been through, I think I may have gone there before… Somehow." I said, voicing my thoughts of some of my strange reoccurring dreams.

"… Have you had any other dreams like that?" He asked carefully.

"Yeah… I sometimes dream of a silver dragon, but I haven't had one in a long time." I admitted. "What does she look like?"

"She is silver, and very large… at least twice your size, and she has antlers instead of horns." I pictured her in my mind. "Oh! And her wings split into two just below her thumb." I pointed to Enti's thumbs on his wings.

"…Interesting…I will look into this." He said. "Back to the main topic though, are you willing to do more so you can visit her?"

"Yes, I will work twice as much if I have to." I answered.

"Then let's begin now." He sat down and looked up to the rising moon. "Tonight, you will learn to control the amount of heat you produce and release."


	11. Elemental Transformation

Elemental Transformation

Sky's POV

Everything is about a hundred times worse than it was when this civil war began. Some moron let word of the ridiculous accusation by the rebels that I am not related to a true king. Legend says that true kings were chosen by the Guardian of their realm, but the guardian of Eraklyon refused to name any more true kings for thousands of years, and then disappeared altogether. No one even has any idea what its name was or what it looked like, but it was the wisest and most powerful creature of this realm, and was entrusted with the duty to name the kings of Eraklyon.

Brandon joined me here a couple of weeks ago, and frankly, I'm still surprised that he didn't have a crying Stella attached to his leg. He said he went on a last minute date with her, gave her a letter, told her she couldn't read it until she got home, and full out sprinted off into the horizon before she could say anything. He said her face would have been funny if she didn't know that he might not come back.

I don't even know how long it has been since I have seen Bloom. Probably about four or five months. I finally got Vanessa to admit that she doesn't know where Bloom is and that I should ask the girls or Daphne. So I called them, but they honestly don't know either. She apparently went with Thanatos and Mink the night after I left and they haven't heard from her since. She should be fine. Thanatos did defend her when the rebels tried to kidnap her, but I still am worried since I don't know where or how she is.

We got another letter from the rebels, but again, it only has one sentence:

I know how to find the Guardian and make him tell the **TRUTH**

Bloom's POV

I was standing in the center of a misty forest. Of all the times I have dreamed of about beautiful places, the silver dragon visited me, but this time… she was nowhere to be seen. I walked around and found a massive clearing with a lake.

_Beautiful, isn't it?_ The silver dragon's soft voice rang clearly through my head and I found her sitting near the shore. _This used to be my home… It still is my home, but it looks nothing like this. Well, it does in some hidden places, but to the blind eye, it has become a wasteland. I tried to convince your daughters to change it back, but when they told me that She told them to, I let them be… and now I lay as still as stone because I was so depressed that my sanctuary was gone. Now, I don't have the choice to get back up again._

"Why not? You aren't depressed anymore, are you? And what do you mean by my daughters?" I hugged her neck.

…_Because I am too cold. And you do not need to know of the children yet._

Suddenly, a massive gust of wind ripped through the forest, uprooting trees and creating massive waves in the lake. I clung to her desperately, but she made no move to comfort me.

_Bloom, have you been practicing combining and breaking apart materials?_

"No, I forgot how…" I yelled to her over the wind which was now carrying tons of snow and hail.

_You don't need to dance with me to change sand to glass. All you need to do is feel the individual particles that either hold the material together or break it apart. You need to understand that even the way something is put together can make the difference between Diamond and Graphite._

The now raging storm got worse and worse. I screamed as the bitter cold wind began to burn my skin and the snow pelted my body.

I sat up quickly and gasped. I was breathing hard and covered in sweat.

"Bloom, are you okay?" a voice called from the balcony. I climbed out of my bed and grabbed a robe. It was funny how immodest all of the night gowns were. They were too short, were open back or front, or were just basically strips of fabric that barely covered what they needed to. The robe was basically see through, but it made me feel a bit better.

"Are you alright?" Peril asked when I opened the glass doors to the balcony. Peril was too big to fit through the main door, so she was perched on the overhang just below the balcony.

"I'm okay, it was just a bad dream." I stuttered, still shaken from my dream.

"What was it about?"

"I was in a forest, and then this huge snowstorm destroyed everything." I explained quickly, leaving out the part about the dragon, my supposed children, and turning materials to other things. I should probably tell someone, at least Enti or Abyss, but I don't want to. I bid Peril goodbye and tried to go back to sleep, but I quickly found that sleep was going to be impossible.

I left my room and took to wandering the halls of the Sky Palace. I still didn't know my way around very well, so I decided to take a long route I knew that led to the library. I opened the doors and found myself thinking about what the silver dragon taught me in the desert. She taught me how to turn sand to glass… and I forgot the next morning. _I wonder if there is a book that will have more on this. I guess I won't know until I look._

It took me about thirty full minutes to find something that was along the line of what I was looking for. It was simple element combination spells that just explained magically combining elements. It apparently has the basis of most elemental powers. For example, someone with control of water can make water come out of the blue by pulling it from the air or magically fusing hydrogen and oxygen together. It takes longer to do it that way but, in theory, you can make as much as you want as long as you have enough of the elements you need. It was the simplest explanation for it, but it even had the name of the techniques that were similar to it. One name for the technique resonated in me for some reason, it was called _Elemental Transformation_. At least I have a better lead on what I'm looking for.

It took me a little under twenty minutes to find four other books that had info on it. I read all four books from cover to cover and ended up with the biggest headache of my life. I understood everything, but the way the books explained it was way too drawn out and boring. Basically, I read the first few lines and skimmed the rest of the chapter. It was actually pretty simple sounding, but was harder to do.

I started with trying to make water out of air, but I only managed a single drop. I practiced again and again, and slowly, I got better. I began around three hours ago, starting with one drop at a time, but now I was making water at about a gallon at a time, then breaking it back into elements. I got used to taking small things and arranging them in ways to make something new, I even made a couple of ice cubes by tightly compacting the atoms and absorbing heat from it the way Enti taught me.

By the time I was making water with a simple flick of my wrist, the sun was rising. I wasn't tired though. I felt ready to take on anything, and my worries about my dream were all gone. I still had questions, but they weren't as worrying now as they were hours ago.

"Bloom, what are you doing up so early?" a voice called to me from the library entrance, I turned to see Queen Abyss and Peril walking towards me. "How long have you been here?"

"…Bloom, have you been up since I spoke with you?" Peril asked quietly.

"Yes." I answered after a moment.

"Then I don't think you should have any training today." She turned to Abyss. "I visited her last night after she had a nightmare over six hours ago."

"Then you will not train today. I guess it is about time to take a small break." She reached for me and picked me up in her large, yet slim hand.

"But I am going to visit Glacial soon, I need to be ready!" I protested. "I don't think I have ever felt this good."

"Let us test that theory." Abyss carried me to a large cushion and placed me down on it. That was the last thing I remembered.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was in a room I didn't recognize. I was on a bed of pillows in a kind of cave with multicolored pools of water. The cave was not a closed one though, it had a large pair of sealed doors at the front, but at the back, the cave turned into an open cliff with a beautiful view of the clouds. There was still a rock roof over us, so it was like looking out a window that went from five feet above ground to the ceiling. I was still in my nightgown, but my robe was hanging on a small bonsai tree nearby.

"It is good to see you lucid again." Peril's voice echoed softly through my head. "You have been asleep for over five hours. You were truly exhausted."

"I guess so, but I felt fine."

"You were probably running on pure adrenaline from the magic you were using." She chuckled. "Abyss saw what you were studying and decided to combine that into a new training regimen that will start after today."

"What kind of changes?"

"After tomorrow, until you leave for Glacial, you will be working exclusively on telepathy, elemental transformation, dragon riding, heat control, and endurance." She said. "But today… You will indulge in the best this palace has to offer. Starting with the mineral pools."

"Mineral pools?" I repeated.

"Pools of water filled with some of the most relaxing and healing combinations that this universe has to offer, and they are all natural. I recommend the black water first, it may seem dirty, but it is the best for weariness and it has soothing qualities. Just refrain from drinking it. It is relaxing, but if ingested, it will end you slowly."

Peril stayed on the shore as I took off my nightgown and stepped into the cool water. As soon as my toes touched it, I felt more relaxed. I let myself sink in and sighed in pure bliss as the water washed over me.

"Peril, why don't you join me?" I asked her, noticing how she returned to her stern and serious demeanor.

"Because this is your day off, not mine. You should enjoy while you can." She replied simply, but I detected a small bit of longing.

"Peril. Come relax for a bit. The pool is big enough for Enti to swim in." I joked. "But seriously, I can't relax while feeling that you are being left out."

She sighed deeply, but climbed into the pool. She let out a small dragon moan which I recognized as pleasure from when I scratched the backs of the fey dragons. We waded in the water for a while, then she told me to try the milky white water.

"It cleanses the body and soothes the soul." She sounded like she was reciting a poem, and it was absolutely right. I watched as the water literally removed a layer of dust from her blood red scales. She and I chatted idly and took turns pouring the water over each other, letting the water remove and dissolve all of the filth off of our bodies and souls. I have to admit I feel a lot happier after this pool.

"Next is purple. The water isn't purple, it is crystal clear but the mineral rocks in the bottom are. They are good for both skin and scales, and leave you smelling like fresh fruit for some odd reason." Peril explained as we took a dip into the purple pool. We waded in the waters for only a short period of time because it was freezing cold.

"Now, the orange water will give you energy, but the blue will leave you feeling tranquil. It is your choice of what is first." She looked to me.

"Let's go…" it thought for a moment. "Orange, then Blue."

I had to get out of the orange water after only five minutes because of how energizing the water actually was. Peril was still relaxing, so I decided to take my robe and look over the edge of the cave. I marveled at the sight of the clouds as the sunlight seemed to dance over them. I guess the guard dragons don't fly over here. I saw two making their rounds, but they were far below us.

"…Peril, why are there no guards this way?"

"Because to the outside, there is no way in here. From the bottom, sides, and top views, it just looks like a strange rock bulge at the top of the castle." She explained.

"Why are there guards anyways? There is no possible way anyone would challenge the Sky Dragons."

"Because of dragon hunters." Her voice grew dark. "Dragon hunters think Kingdom Dragons are okay to hunt because we are more numerous than other rogue species, but it is not. We are alive and have minds as well, but we cannot do anything about them, so some dragons think it is okay to charge the castle."

"Why can't you do anything about them?" I asked, completely confused.

"Because we are the stronger, larger species. If we went on the offensive, we would be written off as savage and dangerous beasts that need to be annihilated for the good of humanity. It would be like a child getting hit by an adult. The child may know some sort of technique to defend themselves, but the adult is larger and stronger. It would be like… what's that human saying?"

"Bringing a knife to a gun fight?" I said, guessing what she was thinking about.

"Yes, that's it. It would not be fair of us to attack humans when we could overpower them. Some dragons do not like this and decide to tell the closest dragon ruler what they think. The poor fools believe that they can take on King Enti and force him to act, but they never had any idea how strong my fath- our king is."

"Why do you not call him father?" I asked cautiously.

"… Let us move to the next pool and maybe I will explain." She whispered as she got out of the orange pool and completely submerged herself in the blue pool. I followed her quickly, feeling the chill of being both wet and naked.

Peril was quiet for a while, but she eventually began her story. "When I was born, I was the most unlikely to survive. I was the smallest and only female of four boys who were all twice my size. We lived in the castle for a few months after we hatched, but then… there was a terrible accident that killed three of my four siblings." She began to tremble, so I moved over to her and began lightly washing her scales.

"You don't have to tell me." I said quietly.

"But for some reason… I want to. My three oldest brothers were playing in the grand balcony, where dragons land to enter the palace, when they fell over the side. They were rough housing and ended up tumbling over the edge. Some guards saw and caught them before they got too close to the ground, but the impact of them getting caught ended up breaking their spines and ending their lives anyways." I caught myself hugging my sides and running my fingers over where Mink caught me. The deep bruises ended up staying with me for months afterwards, and I could still faintly see a small color difference where the bruises were from the rest of my skin.

"It was then that my parents decided to take my last brother and me to a nursery. We were attacked on the way though, by one of the dragons who was protesting our absent actions against dragon hunters. The brute thought he would send a louder message if he attacked my mother, who was carrying us. Mother dodged him, but my brother, who was just slightly bigger than me got snagged in his claws. Enti was able to catch him, but it was too late. He was so angry, he tortured the other dragon before snapping his neck." She stopped for a moment, and a large tear dropped from her cheek.

"I was the one that was most likely to die, and in a matter of days… I became the one who was to inherit the Sky Kingdom. When I was old enough, I decided to join the guard. No one gave me real respect. I was the king's precious little daughter who was supposedly pampered and given everything I ever wanted. All lies. I was ignored by my own mother because she was so consumed by grief. Father was the only one who treated me like he loved me, but you already have seen his personality. He is kind, yet gruff and serious. I know he wants the best for me, but his open love destroyed any respect the guard had for me as a dragon. When I joined the guard, father was angry with me. He was furious when I refused to call him father or answer to daughter from anyone but my mother. I climbed, fought, and earned my way to where I am now, but habit is habit. I am too used to calling him by his political title rather than his biological one."

"Oh Peril… I'm so sorry." I hugged her neck tightly.

"It is not your fault. Come, let us finish our bathing and then we will go to the dining hall."

We soaked in the red pool next which gave me strength, then the green which relaxed my muscles. We took a quick dip in the white water again then I dried off and threw on a dress that was left out for me. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and chatting idly. I even got her to promise that she would talk to Enti about what happened, since she has clearly not gotten past her childhood.

"Thank you for letting me join you today, Bloom." Peril said to me as I opened the door to my room.

"I would have been terribly bored without company, so thank you for joining me." I replied.

"It will be an early day tomorrow, so get to bed quickly." I said goodnight to her and entered my room, wondering what we will be doing first tomorrow.


	12. Burning Nightmare

Burning Nightmare BR

I had been practicing Elemental Transformation all week exclusively and I have gotten pretty good at it. I turn glass to sand, air to water, and even have learned to merge other elements to things like rubies and even diamonds. I remembered the silver dragon specifically saying something about turning diamond to dust, so I have been practicing that relentlessly.

During my time here, I have grown close to Bo, Peril, and a fey dragon named Leaf. Bo is very protective of me and acts like a personal guard. He is very sweet and sensible, but he is in no way used to others treating him well. He always gets bashful whenever anyone praises him and will deny it immediately. Enti and I love to poke fun at him by complementing him and watching his reactions. Peril and I gained a new understanding of each other when I had my day off. She is a lot sweeter than she lets on. Her strong, wise, and regal poise is just an act to protect a more sensitive side of herself. A side that makes her one of the greatest artists I have ever seen. Now, Leaf and I met on a whim the day my new training began. She was to take me to my first lesson and we ended up being incredibly late because we got caught up talking about some of the most random things ever: Food, fire, the maximum speed a fey dragon can reach while carrying a three pound weight even though the fey weighs two pounds when its wings beat ten times in two seconds and flying at an angle of thirty degrees… Just random, dumb stuff. Enti even assigned her to me after he noticed how close we got in a matter of days.

I was on a small break today after I worked for three hours straight on making several diamonds, and some rubies and emeralds, which was exhausting. Leaf was taking a break, Peril took on Mink as her personal student so they were training, and Bo was on guard duty, so I was wandering some of the smaller halls alone.

Most of the halls in the Sky castle were large enough for most dragons to walk through with ease, but then there are a lot of smaller halls that only a select of dragons can get through. Only Bo, Cloud, the feys, and I were small enough to get through the halls with ease. I asked them about what kind of stuff was down those halls, but they all admitted that those were halls that they had never been down before, so I decided to check them out.

There were multiple unlit torches and no other light sources, so I had to light each and every one. So far, I have only seen white walls and locked doors.

"Well then… I guess this was a massive waste of time." I sighed as I turned around, but then something down another dark hall caught my attention. A large set of dark grey doors that had a massive, broken chain in front of it. I walked up to it cautiously and bent down to touch the chains. They were made of a seriously strong material, but something broke through it with ease. I looked up at the doors that towered above me. Hesitantly, I placed my hands on the door, and pushed it open.

The room was pitch black, even the light from the torches outside the door couldn't dent the darkness. I entered slowly and formed a ball of fire in my hand to light the way, but nothing in the world could have prepared me for what decorated the walls. Images of a great dragon setting a city of stone ablaze. Corpses and melted houses covered the walls and I could have sworn that I smelled something burning. I gagged and was immediately on my knees. Tears streamed from my eyes as something sparked in the farthest depths of my memory. I reached to support myself on the only pedestal in the room, and something brushed against my hand. I forced my eyes open and saw a rainbow cat's-eye gem surrounded by gold bent in an intricate design. It fit perfectly in the palm of my hand and I squeezed it tightly as I tried to collect myself, trying to focus on the gold digging into my hand.

It wasn't working, so I tried to leave, but I fell down. My legs tensed up and my entire body convulsed as an image of the rainbow jewel flashed before my eyes. I brought my hand to my face and looked at it again. Before my eyes, the black slit on the jewel contract and begin to shine red. My body convulsed again and my vision went black.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was lying in a field of grass. I got up slowly, and took in the sight before me. There she was… The Great Dragon in all of her glory laying in the field with her head hanging off of a cliff. She was breathing hard and it looked like she was in immense pain.

"_Mother, what has happened to you?!" _Five deep voices asked.

"_The warrior clan Barlox finally decided to make their unreal threats reality." _The Great Dragon gasped.

"_Mother! Are you alright?" _A voice cried from above.

"_Mother, we are so sorry!" _another voice followed the second one, two thin, long dragons descended from the sky and flew to the Great Dragon's side.

"_My daughters, please forgive me, but these humans are too dangerous to let live." _The Great Dragon snarled.

The Great Dragon launched herself up into the air and I was yanked up with her. Her irises were blood red and her pupils were narrow slits. Two lines of spines erupted from her back and she opened a portal to a stone city. _Wait a minute… This is the city from the paintings! _I thought to myself.

The great dragon let out a mighty roar and there was a quick flash of light. People began to emerge from their houses and point at the enraged dragon.

"WHERE IS YOUR KING!?" She bellowed.

"I am here great beast. Have you come to return what is rightfully ours?" A man yelled from near a fountain.

"I AM HERE TO END THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL! NONE SHALL SURVIVE MY WRATH!"

All hell broke loose. The great dragon took a breath and flames exploded out of her jaws. Everywhere the flames touched seemed to scream as she unleashed her wrath upon the city of stone. I watched in horror as the people did what they could to fight the Great Dragon. They threw every weapon and every spell they had at her, but it did very little. The Great Dragon's deafening roar shook the air as she melted the city.

"You call yourself a god Dragon? Then why do you destroy your own people?" The King taunted the furious dragon.

"NO! ARE YOU STUPID? GET OUT OF THERE!" I screamed at the foolish man who was surrounded by melted rock and the corpses of his own people. Tears streamed from my eyes as I watched the great dragon use her powers to pick him up and hold him in front of her enormous eye.

"Foolish human, I told you that you would bring the end of your empire." She snarled to the King who was still smiling smugly. "Your kingdom has burned, your subjects gone, and none shall remember your empire of stone."

Slowly, the man's feet turned black and the blackness slowly crept up his body. The man noticed quickly and began screaming. Once his entire body and clothes turned black, he disappeared.

I literally just watched the Great Dragon poof someone out of existence. I then watched in horror as the Great Dragon used her powers to raise the entire city and at least a mile of rock underneath it, flip it upside down, and bury the still smoldering city under the earth.

I turned back to the Great Dragon, who seemed frozen in air. She threw her head back and let out a roar, but her voice was different this time. The rage she had disappeared completely from her voice and her eyes were no longer red. Instead, her irises were rainbow hued and her pupils were still slits, but not as intense as before.

"_Mother, are you alright?" _Two voices came from the sky, the two long dragons had followed her.

"…_No, I am sorry. I won't be able to help you, or anyone anymore. Just remember this… I love you, your siblings, and all of the lives in my dimension. I promise that I will return someday… Goodbye."_

And with that, she opened a portal, and her long body disappeared in the rift. I wasn't yanked with her this time, but I wasn't sure that I ever wanted to see her again. The Great Dragon was supposed to be the ultimate source of good, so how could she have done this?! Why? Why did this happen?

My eyes opened slowly, and I found that I was still lying on the floor of the horrible room. There was a pool of tears by my face and I was still shaking violently.

"Bloom? Bloom, where are you?" Bo's voice echoed through the halls.

"Bo," my voice was raspy and weak. "Bo!"

I heard his light footsteps and his claws scrape on the floor as he ran to me. I couldn't move, so I let him scoop me up in his arms and carry me back to the main halls where Enti, Peril, and Mink were waiting.

"Where's Cloud?!" Enti roared.

"I'm here." She rushed past and began to check me over.

"I don't think there is any physical damage, but there is quite a lot of emotional trauma. Take her to her room, Bo, and stay with her." Cloud ordered.

Bo rushed me to my room and laid me down on my soft bed and covered me with one of the fur blankets. He was about to leave, but I caught his arm.

"Stay," I managed to choke out.

He settled down beside me and rested his head on a pillow. The heat that came off of his body was comforting and I began to calm down.

I spent the next couple of days just lying in my bed, trying to make sense of what happened. Bo and Leaf were allowed off of their duties to spend time with me, but I found it hard to speak. I would try to talk to them, but my voice would be just a whisper and cracked easily. I also found that I was incredibly reluctant to use my magic. My powers were from the Great Dragon, one of the purest powers, so how could she reek such havoc? How could I know that I would be able to handle my powers if I ever lost control?

Peril and Mink took it upon themselves to order that my balcony be expanded to they could land and be with me, but I rarely went on the balcony anyways. Bo and Leaf had lo literally throw me off of my bed to get me up.

"How are you, Bloom?" Cloud asked me one day, about a week after the incident.

"Okay," I answered softly, mentally cursing my voice for cracking.

"No you are not alright. I visited the room Bo found you in, and I know what you have seen and what you are thinking about the Great Dragon… and you are wrong about her."

"But she-"

"She did what she thought was right for the universe. The Barlox Empire wreaked havoc throughout the dimensions and even had the gall to challenge the Great Dragon herself for her power… the power you hold today. Stories say that the Great Dragon simply passed away when she came to rest on Domino, but in actuality, the Barlox siphoned most of her power during a great war and she used the rest of her energy to destroy their legacy to keep the Universe safe after she died." I sat there in shock at what I was hearing.

"But she killed so many…"

"Not as many as you think. She looked into the hearts of every human in the Barlox clan and only killed the men and women who sought destruction and lusted for power. She erased the memories of the men, women, and children that didn't think that way and scattered them throughout the magical dimension. She even erased the memories of the Barlox from the other kingdoms so none would question what happened to them."

"But that doesn't make what she did right."

"I never said it did. As a ruler, she had to make a hard decision that she knew would have devastating consequences, but she had faith that it was the best thing to do. This may be hard to understand now, but I'm sure that the Dragon's eye gem will tell you in due time." She picked up my hand that still clutched the rainbow and gold bordered gem. I wanted to throw it off of the balcony, but I found that I couldn't. No matter what I thought, I never could let it leave my sight.

"Rest now, you get back to training tomorrow."


	13. Flying High

Flying High

After I was somewhat more stable, I was thrown head first into training, literally. Apparently, my first lesson in dragon riding is how to mount a dragon while falling through the sky at terminal velocity. I cannot even put into words how painful it was belly flopping onto Mink's back after being pushed off of the Sky castle.

"WHAT WHAS THAT ABOUT?!" I screamed once I was on solid ground

"Trust." Enti and Abyss said simply and at the same time

"What?" I said stupidly, still baffled at what happened moments before

"To trust a dragon to catch you when you fall is to trust your power which originates from the greatest dragon ever." Enti said simply

"What?" I repeated

"Your power's source is the flame of the great dragon. If you can trust other dragons to catch you when you fall, you can trust her." Abyss explained

I have been second guessing my powers ever since I found that room, but I didn't think it was that apparent. I just feel like I could do something really bad if I lose control or over use my powers in the slightest.

"Now, we can ether continue pushing you off of the palace, or you can take the leap yourself. Every jump you take will last longer than the next, mind you. We are aiming for you to get as close to the ground as possible." Enti said

I walked up to the edge of the castle "So who will catch me?" I asked

"You will find out once you are caught."

"… Just get it over with." I sighed as I screwed my eyes shut. I felt something hit my back and I went flying forwards. We did this again and again with many different dragons that I had never met or even seen before. They all caught me just before I hit the clouds, and I figured out how to land without hurting myself too much, but it didn't feel like it was helping.

"Now, this time, you jump on your own." Enti commanded

I shuffled to the very edge, looking down on the white fluffy clouds below. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and fell forwards.

I have to admit, even though it was scary not knowing when or who would catch you, but it was exhilarating. My hair flowing in the wind, whipping around wildly as I fell through the open air. The feeling of weightlessness and the air surrounding my skin, making my clothes hug me tightly. I opened my eyes slightly, and had a slight heart attack.

They always caught me before I hit the clouds, but this time, I went straight through them. I felt the condensation in the air and collect on my skin. I shivered from both the cold and fear as I plummeted through the clouds. I lost almost all of my visibility through the mass of clouds, so I didn't notice the black mass coming for me to my right at first.

I hit the mass hard and was yanked to the left. I screamed and held on to one of the black dragon's spines.

"_It has been much too long, hasn't it Bloom?" a familiar voice echoed through my head_

"_Thanatos! I missed you so much!" I hugged his neck tightly_

"_And I missed you, but right now… Let us fly."_

He snapped his wings in and nosedived down. We erupted through the clouds at an incredible speed. At the last moment, Thana snapped his wings open and we glided over the ocean, his tail skimming the surface for a split second before we rocked skywards. He tilted his body to the right, and we flew right. He tilted his body left, and we flew left. At the amazing speed we were going, even the slightest movement made a massive difference. He could tilt his body by just a few inches and we would veer hard to the left or right.

We were above the clouds within seconds and headed back towards the castle. I waved as I passed by Queen Abyss, who was now sitting alone on the main balcony. Suddenly, a loud roar came from above us. I looked up to see Enti, Peril, Mink, Bo, Basalt, Sora, Shine, Moorhen, River, and all of their young flying with us.

"You're all here!" I screamed excitedly and waved to them

"_You may hate me for this, but it is necessary. Just trust us." Thanatos said to me_

"What are you talking-" I was cut off when Thana flipped upside down and I fell off of his back. I screamed In surprise as I fell through the air once again, but I was quickly caught by Peril.

"See, this isn't so bad is it?" she asked me as the others circled around us

I began to get the gist of what they were doing. I was to jump back and forth between them, so that was what I did.

For the first few times, I let the dragon I was riding roll upside down to toss me off. It was exhilarating knowing that I could fall through thin air and be caught by one of my many dragon friends. After I got the courage up, I finally jumped on my own from Enti's back. Everyone roared with happiness as I landed on Mink's back.

"This will be the last thing you learn before heading to Glacial, Bloom. We need to get you to an expert level of dragon riding if you are to get through Glacial alive." Enti said to me at the end of the day

"Hey, as long as you are there to catch me, I will do fine." I laughed as the young dragons nuzzled me, each individual trying to get my full attention

"Well… that won't always be the case. Our goal for this lesson is to get you to ride your own dragon on your own."

"…but how will I do that? I can create a dragon, but it isn't solid. It is just a mass of energy that kind of has a mind of its own at times." I admitted

"You just simply need the balance and trust to ride that power. It won't be easy, but it will be well worth your time." Abyss said

"… Hey Abyss, I have a question." She nodded for me to continue "How did you get to the Sky palace? I mean, you don't have wings and Bo told me that the castle hasn't landed for years."

"…I shall show you tomorrow." She sighed "But for now, let us bask in the last light of the day."

_Bloom, don't go too far, I do not want you to get lost our hurt." Gale called to me as I followed Fritz out of the cave. We squealed in delight as we tumbled around in the snow with Gale's babies and Fritz' siblings._

_Suddenly, there was a bright light on my chest. It didn't hurt, but it felt weird. It got really bright, and before I knew it, I was completely surrounded. Then I was at Gardenia. I blinked a couple of times, trying to remember what just happened, but I couldn't. I recognized that I was at Gardenia Park, so I walked home. I reached my door, but it was locked, so I jumped up and rang the doorbell. Mom opened the door, and froze_

"_Bloom!" she hugged me tightly and began crying_

"_Mommy? Why are you crying, mommy? Don't cry, please?" I said to her, but that only made her cry harder, Dad came running as soon as mom started crying, and he stopped when he saw me as well. He scooped us both up, brought us inside, and started crying as well._

I sat up quickly in my bed. _What was that about?_ I thought to myself. I felt something wet under my eyes and found that I was crying.

"Is something wrong Bloom?" leaf asked me

"…No, it was just a dream." I answered her as I lied back down again.I have had similar dreams like this one off and on for a while now. I wonder if the Gale in my dreams is the same Frozen Gale that I am to meet when I get to Glacial. I guess I will find out after my training.

Sky's pov

"Prince Sky, your father wants you." Diaspro called for me outside my tent. I sighed and got up from my desk. I walked through our main camp and to the war tent. I could hear my father screaming before I entered and prepared for the worst.

"HOW DARE THEY?! OUR BLOOD LINE HAS RULED ERAKLYON FOR CETURIES BEFORE THE GUARDIAN WENT MISSING!" my father roared at our chief historian

"Yes, that is what we have been told, but there is a dark part in our history that we still can't work out yet." The poor guy tried to explain "It was thousands of years ago mind you, I am surprised anyone even remembers that or knows what happened."

"Father, please calm down. It doesn't matter now, that was thousands of years ago and doesn't mean anything today. I'm sure that someone just made that up to just cause some trouble and it got blown way out of proportion." I tried to reason with him, but he would not be so easily swayed

He continued his rant and threw a crumpled letter at me. I smoothed it out as much as I could and read it over. Then I reread it at least seven times over. It was another one liner, but now I was getting a little worried that this wasn't just someone who wanted to cause trouble, this may be someone who was mentally unstable, because this was all that it said

I am the only living relative to a true king

Bloom's Pov

Abyss led me down a large hall to a room with one of the most beautifully engraved doors I have ever seen. The guards pushed the door open for us, and I just stood there and gawked at the contents of the room.

There was a large pedestal with what looked like a three dimensional map of the Magix universe.

"Watch." Abyss said quietly as she touched one of the planets that was an ocean blue color. It expanded into a large, very detailed map. Abyss spun the planet around, touched a place on an island, and a door nearby opened.

"Well, come on then." Abyss walked through the portal, she grabbed something floating nearby. I walked in after her and found myself in a gorgeous room filled with coral decorations and cerulean blue walls.

"Welcome to my home, the Water Palace. That room we just passed through was the portal room. You can choose any place in all of Magix and go there with that map, but you can only get back if you have a key." She explained "Now, let's get back before we are missed."

We returned through the portal and I was just about to leave, but Abyss held something out for me.

"Here, your own personal key. That way you can come to the Sky palace any time you want."

I spent almost three weeks freefalling off of the backs of dragons and the balconies of the Sky palace. Every day, I would practice more extravagant jumps and dives, try different landing techniques, and have even learned to run across their wings and use their power to launch myself skyward. We all had a blast flying around and being in each other's company, but today was going to be different. Today I was to fly alone with Thanatos, jump off of his back, and use my own dragon to catch myself.

"_Are you ready?" Thana asked_

"_Yeah, but let's warm up first." I said back to him, trying to hide my nervousness_

"_Well then, let's get started."_

I ran up Thana's tail and knelt down on his back and he ran off of the balcony and plummeted through the clouds. He snapped his wings open and turned sharply to the right. He barrel rolled to the left and dropped down again. I held on desperately to his back and moved with his body so I wouldn't fall off. Thana climbed quickly with his powerful, wide wings beating in sync with his breath, and I tried to do the same with my heart beat.

"_Are you ready?" he asked me once we were well above the clouds and the Sky palace_

"…Yes." My voice sounded strange to myself, but I didn't really care. Thana slowed his wing beats until we were seemingly floating in midair. He was completely vertical, his long body pointed upwards and he pulled his wings in slowly. I placed my feet in the center of his back…and pushed off.

I fell through the air without a sound. I felt my self slowly flip backwards as I closed my eyes. I felt the air whistle past me and my hair flew around wildly. I thought of Thanatos, Enti, Peril, all of the dragons I have met and befriended, the Girls, Sky and the Specialists, everyone I ever knew and loved…. But most of all, I thought of the silver dragon.

I thought of her blazing blue eyes and something seemed to ignite inside me. My eyes flew open and I was surrounded by a red orange light. The light circled around me and began to take shape. A long gorgeous dragon with two arms danced around me. I reached out my arm hesitantly, knowing what it was and what it could do. The dragon felt stable enough. Her scales were smooth, yet very hard at the same time. Her long whiskers wrapped around my waist and placed me on her back. I held on tightly as she danced through the skies and down towards the ground. She lowered me down to the palace where all of my dragon friends were waiting and cheering for me. My dragon dispersed as I landed, but not after bowing her head to me.

"Bloom…" Enti began "You are ready."


	14. Glacial

Glacial

"Bloom," Cloud's voice came from the entrance of my room.

"Mnghppp" I mumbled with my face still stuffed in a pillow.

She sighed heavily. "Either you get up on your own or I will drag you out and toss you off the balcony." She threatened, but I only grabbed my blanket and covered my head.

Suddenly, I felt the blanket be ripped off of me and Clouds smooth and soft paw wrapped around my ankle. I yelped as she dragged me out of my soft bed and out on the balcony.

"No, No, NO!" I screamed. "I'm up! I'm up!" I tried to stand up, but it was too late. She flung me off the balcony. I summoned my dragon quickly and I landed gracefully on her back. She flew me back up to my balcony where Cloud was still waiting on me.

"I see you are awake now. Come, today is the day you leave for Glacial. We have packed your backpack and have some rather nice clothes for your trip." Cloud led me back into my room and I saw two neat stacks of clothes on my table.

The first stack was compiled of some of the strangest clothes I have ever seen. It looked like they were made of dragon scales and some kind of sturdy, bright red leather.

"You need to layer up on Glacial, so we made an under layer composed of dragon scales stitched together and rare volcano salamander hide. It will trap your body heat in the material and help you keep warm." Cloud explained as she helped me put the tight, but comfortable clothes on.

The next pile consisted of very large boots, some kind of snow pants, and a large jacket with a mask sewn onto the hood.

"Fur lines the inside and the mask will protect your face from the bitter winds." This was much easier to get on, but I was already feeling hot. "Maybe, we should hold off on that until you are about to leave…" Cloud said, noticing the sweat running down my face.

Cloud and I walked to the portal room where Enti, Abyss, and another dragon I have never seen before was waiting for me. The new dragon was long and had a mane running from his head all the way down to his tail. He may actually be older than dirt though. His scales were ragged, and his horns were battered and broken probably from fights. He was speaking quietly with Enti, and I could clearly see he had some broken teeth. He turned his head when I walked into the room and I could tell that he was blind.

"Hello there, I think I can assume that you are Bloom, correct?" His voice was light and raspy, completely contradicting his looks, but showing his age at the same time.

"Hello, and yes, I am Bloom." I answered him and did a small bow.

"I am King Terran, the ruler of the Land dragons. I am sorry I could not see you sooner, but there is a conflict on Eraklyon that needed my full attention. It has calmed down for the moment, so I took this opportunity to finally come and meet you in person." He explained.

"How is everything on Eraklyon?" I asked a little too quickly. "I have a friend who is in the middle of all of it…" I said a little embarrassed at my outburst.

"Not good to be honest with you. The rebels have apparently made an outrageous claim against the crown and are seeking out the guardian of Eraklyon." He said quietly, bowing his head a little. "There has already been almost countless deaths."

"Do you know anything about Prince Sky?" I asked him hesitantly.

"… All I know is that he is leading his men well and trying his best to keep his father's temper in check." Terran said.

"Oh…" I said simply.

"I do not want to interrupt, but it is time. If we wait much longer, you may arrive in the middle of a blizzard." Enti moved forwards.

"Okay, let's go." I put on the large, fur jacket and strapped on my backpack which was stuffed with food and supplies.

"You have your key, right?" Abyss asked me.

"Yeah, it's around my neck." I patted where it was on my chest since I was unwilling to take it out once I put my gloves on.

Enti moved around the planets and chose one on the far side of the three dimensional map. He then chose a place over what looked like a frozen ocean.

"Frozen Gale lives with a pack of Furze dragons on the ocean of Sola. She has been informed of where you will be, so just find a place to hunker down and wait for her."

Enti opened the portal and I gasped as the cold wind hit my face. "Put your mask on before you enter." Enti advised.

I placed my mask on and took a deep breath, probably the last breath of warm air I will have in a while. I walked towards the portal, and looked back to the others one more time. They bowed their heads, and I waved goodbye, and I jumped through the portal.

Now I know what cold feels like. I have been to the omega dimension and Domino when it was still a dead planet, but this was something completely different. This was not a biting cold, this was a burning cold that made you feel like you were on fire even though it was well below freezing. A blast of wind knocked the breath out of me and I crumpled to the ground. _Come on Bloom, get it together!_ I began gathering body heat in my clothes and just sat there, collecting myself and preparing to stand up again.

I finally got up after a while and looked around. All around me was ice and snow. After a moment, I decided that standing in snow would probably be safer than standing on ice when I don't know how thick it is. I shuffled to a large snow drift and got an idea. I shuffled around the drift, so I was facing the wind, and began to dig. I dug well down, out of the way of the wind and patted it down to sturdy it. I decided that this would be the perfect place to wait for Frozen Gale, so I laid down and waited.

After a while, I felt something in my mask. I lifted it up a bit, and thousands of tiny frozen specks fell out all over me. Apparently, it was cold enough to freeze the water molecules in my breath. The cold air felt like it was glass in my throat and burned my lungs, but I had to ignore it if I was going to meet Frozen Gale and learn about how I know her.

I don't know when I fell asleep, or how long I was out for, but I knew for a fact that I was dreaming.

_BLOOM, WAKE UP NOW! _The silver dragon was right in front of my face and roaring at me to wake up.

I jolted awake just in time to see some kind of furry monster trying to dig me out of my hole. I gasped and wedged myself at the very back of my hole. Its muzzle was too big to fit in the entrance, but I knew that its large, clawed feet would dig me out pretty quickly. I looked down and saw that the snow at the entrance had solidified into ice. _Well, that gives me about two more minutes. Think Bloom, THINK!_

A thought came to me, and I decided to try it out. I took a deep breath, ripped off my mask, and yelled. "Dragon's breath!"

Fire erupted from my mouth and I heard the monster scream in fear. I ran out as it backed up and pawed at its singed face. Big Mistake. There were at least six others waiting behind the first. I fired two balls of fire to distract them as I took off back towards the ice. I was too scared and focused in running for my life to try and transform, so the ice was my best bet. There had to be at least five feet of snow on the ground, but not on the ice. Luckily, on the bottom of my boots, there were small spikes and very rough leather like material that gripped the smooth surface well enough to where I wasn't sliding everywhere. Over the howling wind, I could hear the monsters feet pounding on the ice after me, so I decided to penguin slide to get further ahead of the monsters. I dived onto the ice and went flying forwards. I scrambled to my feet once I slowed down enough and began running again. I was a good ten yards in front of them when I noticed something was wrong. I blinked rapidly as the landscape in front of me began to blur together and get darker, then it went back to normal. Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the freezing air, causing me to fall. I looked up and I saw a massive wyvern land in front of me.

This was unlike any dragon I have ever seen before. She had light blue scales that appeared smooth, but she also had ragged white spines that reminded me of icicles. She looked back at me and I could see that her eyes were a piercing blue that reminded me of an ocean.

"_KEEP AWAY FROM MY CHILD!" _She bellowed.

The monsters skidded to a halt and they all slipped while trying to run back the other way. Once the monsters were all out of sight, the wyvern turned to me and lowered her head to my level.

"_Bloom?" _A voice whispered in my head.

"…_Frozen Gale?" _I guessed who she was.

"_I never thought I would see you again. You had me worried sick!" _The kind motherly voice turned to the angry motherly voice.

"_I'm sorry, but I had… to go… home." _My vision faded again and I felt myself fall backwards.


	15. Memories

Memories

Alfea, Winx Dorm

"How long is Bloom going to be away?!" Stella whined with her head in a pillow.

"Probably until things on Eraklyon settle down." Musa mumbled as she chewed the cap of her pen as she worked on a new song. "She may be gone longer though… since she is with the dragons."

"Musa!" Flora gasped. "You're making a mess!" Flora had literally just cleaned up and now tons of crumpled up papers were scattered on the floor around Musa's chair.

"I'll clean it up after I get through this stupid chorus." Musa sighed and crumpled up another sheet of paper and threw it on the ground.

"Well that only makes me think about Brandon and how he left me!" Stella began sobbing into the pillow.

"He didn't want to leave you Stella, he had to go. He is Sky's squire." Tecna said, making Stella cry even harder.

"Tecna, really?" Flora glares at her as she begins rubbing Stella's back, trying to comfort her.

"Hey, everything will turn out fine. You'll see." Aisha sat down next to Stella and stroked her head.

"Don't worry Stella. Bloom is strong and surrounded by dragons right now, and Brandon is most likely with Sky, away from the front lines. Both will come back completely fine." Flora whispered to the crying girl, but in the back of her head, she doubted her own words.

Sky's POV

"Sky, General Drogon wants to speak with you." Brandon called for me from the entrance of my tent.

"Coming." I answered him and put away my maps and letters.

"Hey, are you okay?" Brandon placed a hand on my shoulder.

"To be completely honest… No. This war is starting to get to me, and I am worried about Bloom." I admitted.

"First off, we can't let the war get to us, and secondly, Bloom is surrounded by dragons right now, how could she be any safer?"

"We have been getting reports from Alfea, Domino, and Earth that some rebels have been going to these places, but returning with nothing. They may not have captured her yet, but they are defiantly looking for her." I sighed.

"And if they do find her, they will have to go through the behemoth known as Thanatos." Brandon chuckled.

I flashed back to when the rebels first tried to kidnap Bloom.

_The guys and I rushed to Alfea after Saladin woke us up saying that the girls are in danger. I gasped as I saw two men carrying Bloom away, but they didn't get far._

_Thanatos lunged after them and scooped up Bloom in his mouth. The guys and I jumped into action and began fighting the men who took her._

_At first, I thought Thanatos might have accidentally killed her with his enormous teeth, but when I finally reached Bloom, I was a bit stunned. He was gently caring for her while vigilantly watching the rebels at the same time, and Bloom wasn't harmed at all._

"I guess you are right…" I gave in and walked out of the tent.

"General Drogon, what do you want to talk about?" I asked our top general.

"It's about the letters we have been receiving… I think I know what they are talking about when they say you aren't related to a true king."

"Well spit it out then!" My father entered the tent with Diaspro right behind him, who immediately went to my side and gave me a seductive smile.

"Well, just after the Guardian of Eraklyon disappeared, there was a massive up rise against the crown prince at the time. It is unclear why, but his half-brother overthrew him and took the crown. No one know what happened to him."

"So, you're saying that this moron is related to that guy?" I asked, completely dumbfounded.

"He could be, no one knows what happened to him. And if he is… who knows what he could do with that information. He has probably swayed all of his followers that you are not fit to rule since your blood line leads to someone who usurped the crown."

"This is preposterous!" My father roared. "That happened thousands of years ago, how come it matters now?!"

"Because no one knows exactly what happened then." Drogon sighed.

Suddenly, an idea came to me. "Why don't we try and find the guardian as well? It could help us settle all of this madness."

Bloom's POV

…_Okay. This is new. _I thought as I looked down on my younger self who had to have been only three or four years old. It was a strange feeling, but I knew that I was watching a memory.

I was running around Gardenia Park with Selina, playing tag and just being four year olds, while our parents watched us from a bench. I smiled as I remembered how much fun Selina and I had when we were little.

After a while, the two of us decided to play hide and seek. She ran off to hide while I counted next to a tree. I found her fairly easily since she was just hiding behind a bush, but when it was my turn, I took it to a new level. I climbed a tree and hid in the branches where Selina would never find me.

I sat there for probably ten minutes before I climbed down and went looking for her. I couldn't find her at all, so I went to where our parents were… but they weren't there either. I began to panic and call out for them while running around the park wildly. Suddenly, a man walked up to my young panicking self and began talking to me.

Now I know you shouldn't judge people on their appearances… but this dude was an absolute creep. He looked like he hadn't seen the light of day for at least a week, bald with a scraggly beard, and a black trench coat. He said he would help me find my parents, and grabbed my hand.

Now, I immediately knew this was way wrong, but my naive four year old self went with him. I was screaming at my younger self, but this was a memory. The man led me out of the park and to his car… a white, dirty van. Seeing that finally sent alarm bells in little me's head. I tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but he only held me tighter and yanked me towards the van.

Suddenly, there was a bright light and a stream of fire in the shape of a dragon burst out of my chest. The man screamed as the dragon burned his arms and little me disappeared. The next thing I knew, we were back on Glacial in the middle of a massive storm, right in front of a massive wyvern. The wyvern knelt down and carefully sniffed my young form curiously. Little me cried out, but the wyvern continued to gently pick me up in her mouth and carried me off.

We came to a cave full of furry dragons who greeted the wyvern excitedly, but seemed confused when they was my little body in her mouth.

The wyvern made a wuffing sound, and a large red furry dragon followed her deeper into the cave. The dragon curled up and the wyvern placed little me onto the furry mass. The dragon was warm and soft, so my little me fell fast asleep.

I opened my eyes slowly, and immediately knew something was wrong. Something furry and alive was surrounding me, and I could feel its deep breathing that told me it was asleep.

"_So you are finally awake." _A soft voice that was almost a whisper entered my mind.

"_Yes, I am." _I answered hesitantly._ "Are you Frozen Gale?"_

"_Yes. Oh Bloom, you have no idea how worried I was about you." _The wyvern loomed over me and nuzzled my cheek.

"_Who is this?" _I laid a hand on the thing under me.

"_The Furze dragon Fritz. He was here when you first arrived. He missed you greatly as well." _Fritz lifted his head, yawned, and fell back asleep._ "… Even if he doesn't act like it."_

It was exciting to finally meet Gale and Fritz, but something was deeply wrong with me.

"_Bloom? What's wrong?" Gale asked._

"_I- I can't see you." I stumbled._

"_It is dark in here." Gale tried to reassure me. "Let me find some glow moss to get some light in here."_

_I heard her leave the room, and she came back after about five minutes. "Here, how about now?"_

"…No, I- I can't see!"


	16. Darkness and Daughters

Darkness and Daughters

I'm not completely blind right now… I can see some shadows, but that's about it. Gale says I went snow blind because I had my mask off for an extended period of time out in the storm. There is a chance my vision will return, but it is more likely that I will lose my vision completely forever. I also ran into a massive problem with the Furze dragons. I can't speak with them since I can't use my dragon eyes. I guess it's okay though, they speak more through touch and sound anyways. Apparently, the Furze dragons dwell under the ice in the dark tunnels that go all over glacial and even to the oceans below where they hunt.

I found out that there are three levels to Glacial. The surface, the tunnels, and the oceans. The surface is where Frost wyverns and dig-drifters, the creatures that attacked me, hunt large mammoth like creatures known as Grasloths. The tunnels are where cave weasels and furze dragons live and they hunt fish at entrances to the oceans. Lastly, the oceans of Glacial, two named Sola and Nyemaane, is where the most life is. Tons of fish and whale like animals live under miles of ice and feed off the glowing moss that grows on rocks, smaller fish and krill.

"_Bloom, there is so much you need to see here, but are you sure you will be okay with Fritz down in the tunnels?" _Gale asked me two days after I lost my sight.

"_I'm sure. Besides, Fritz looked after me when I was little didn't he?" _I reminded her.

"_I guess, but I don't think you should be down there for long, okay. The faster we get you off of Glacial, the better the chance you will have of saving what's left of your vision."_

"_I can only see shadows, Gale. It isn't going to make much of a difference if I go completely blind now. Plus it's warmer down in there. It will be fine."_

Gale relented with a long sigh, and allowed me and Fritz to go down in the tunnels. She told me that there are two dragons that I should meet before I leave to go back to the Sky Palace to attempt saving the rest of my sight, but she didn't like the fact that she couldn't come with us since she is too big for most of the tunnels. I don't know who these dragons are, but they must be pretty important since Gale finally let me out of her sight.

Fritz is actually turning out to be a good Seeing Eye dragon. He is always by my side, warns me if I'm about to run into a wall or trip over something, and he leads me around to where I want to go. This time was no different. Even though his shoulder was at my waist, he was always ready to catch me if I stumbled while climbing down some of the steeper tunnels. He even set up a squeak system for me. One squeak is stop. Two squeaks is go. A rumble is turn left until I stop. A long squeak is turn right until I stop. And a weird whine is 'let me lead you'.

It was slow progress in the beginning, but once the two of us got our squeak system down, we were going at a much faster pace than before. We had been in the tunnels for around an hour before Fritz squeaked a stop and then let out a deep sigh. I had no idea what that was, so I was extra confused when he grabbed my hand with his mouth and placed it gently on something cold. I thought it was ice at first, but it didn't melt from the heat of my hand. A single knock led me to the conclusion that this was something metal and hollow. I ran my hands along the smooth object and found a handle. I pulled it open easily and Fritz squeaked for me to go forwards.

I walked through what I now know was a door, and Fritz squeaked for me to stop. Suddenly, there was a horrible, screeching cry that came from Fritz's direction.

"What the heck was that about?!" I cried as I rubbed my temples, but another sound made me freeze to the spot. A rumbling sound that reminded me of a nightmare.

"Mother? Is that you?" The soft voice echoed through the room.

"Nyemaane, Mother is long dead! Why would you- Mother?" Another familiar voice came from the opposite direction of the first.

"Who's there?" I called out hesitantly.

There was movement in front of me that made me jump back "No, don't be afraid. We won't hurt you. My name is Nyemaane, and my sister here is Sola." The soft voice, Nyemaane called out.

"You two… How do I know you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well, we are- we're your daughters." The other voice, Sola said.

"That's impossible. I have never had any kids in my life! Let alone given birth to two dragons!" I stumbled.

"You are half correct. You have yet to have children in this life, but we were your daughters before." Nyemaane explained.

"That-that doesn't make any sense!" I yelled.

"Yes it does!" Sola yelled back. "You were our mother in your first life!"

"Sola, Enough!" Nyemaane snapped. "What is your name now?"

"My name is and always has been Bloom!" I retorted harshly.

"Bloom, you are the reincarnation of our mother, Inferno. Her power is deeply integrated in your being and only her soul could be as pure as yours." Nyemanne replied.

"And your dragon looks exactly like her. There is no way you can't be her."

"Okay, first off, my power was handed down to me when I was a baby, that's why it is so connected to me. And secondly, there is no way to prove that I was this Inferno!" This is ridiculous! I can't be the reincarnation of a dragon, right?

"Okay then, have you ever dreamed of a silver dragon?" Sola's question threw me back.

"How do you know about the silver dragon?" I gasped.

"She lived here eons ago." Nyemaane replied. "She was to lead you here through your dreams and back to us at the temple."

"What temple?" I asked, then there was a long silence.

"…The temple you are currently standing in." Sola said, dumbfounded.

"Wait a moment, your eyes… Are you blind?" I felt Nyemaane's warm breath on my face.

"…Yes. I went blind two days ago." I sighed.

"But you have a dragon's eye. Wait, do you not know how to see through it?" Sola asked me.

"I can see through a dragon's eye but I don't think I have one," I said.

"Yes you do, under your coat. It's an eye of the Great Dragon. You should be able to use it to see for short periods of time."

"Here, take it out and I will show you how." Nyemaane told me.

I took out my three necklaces and felt them to find the rainbow dragon's eye gem. Then it hit me. Sola and Nyemaane were familiar to me because I saw them in that nightmare of a vision I had when I first found the dragon's eye! Nyemaane and Sola were the two dragons who kept apologizing to the great dragon for some reason!

"Now Bloom, listen closely. You must send a burst of magic to the eye to activate it, and concentrate hard to see what it sees. It will be like looking around with one eye closed." Nyemaane made it sound so easy, but that was not the case. I had to try several times before I got it working. When I finally saw something, I was taken back by what I saw. Three dragons stood in front of me in the middle of a large temple encased in ice.

"Now that you can see, my name is Nyemaane, and this is Sola." Nyemaane reaffirmed who they were, and wow were they amazing.

Nyemaane was a beautiful silver with bright blue eyes. She had a baby blue mane running from the top of her head, all the way down her long body to the tip of her tail. She had a chain necklace with a blue orb attached to it. Sola looked identical to her sister body wise, but she was gold with green eyes and a red mane. She also had a chain necklace, but her orb was yellow. And finally, Furze was covered head to toe with dark red fur with a rusty colored stripe running down his back. He was long, shorter than I was, his horns were curved and white as snow, and his eyes were a pretty gold yellow.

"Of Fritz, it is so great to finally see you." I knelt down and rubbed his cheeks, and he squealed in delight.

"Now you can only use this for short periods at a time. It is normally used to look into places you can't see in with your own eyes." Sola told me just as I lost the connection and was thrown into the dark again. I tried to use it again, but it wasn't working.

"Let it rest Bloom. You used too much of its energy." Nyemaane stopped me.

"Thank you for teaching me this, but what do you know about the silver dragon?" I changed the topic back.

"She came to this dimension with the great dragon before our world was created. The silver dragon watched over us when mother died. She watched over all of our siblings as well even though we are far apart."

"Is she here? Can I meet her?" I began to get excited.

"I guess you could…" I heard some hesitation in Nyemaane's voice. "Come, we will guide you to her."

Fritz led me out of the temple doors and we walked deeper down into the tunnels in complete silence, except for the occasional squeak command. Sola and Nyemaane walked completely in step with each other, or one of them wasn't walking at all. It was about an hour later when Fritz squeaked a stop and we didn't continue forwards.

"We're here." Sola whispered. "Activate the dragon eye so you can see her."

I took a deep breath and focused on the eye hanging from my neck. After a moment, I began to see things from the rainbow gem. I looked around, confused.

"Where is she- oh my…" I gasped as I noticed the familiar shape deep within a wall of ice.


	17. Silver Dragon

Silver Dragon

"So this is where you have been…" I whispered as I lightly touched the ice that surrounded the silver dragon. She seemed so… peaceful. Like she was just dozing on a sunny day, but instead of waking up, she was encased in tons of ice. Doomed to sleep for who knows how long.

"She went into hibernation before the planet froze over eons ago and didn't wake up in time. Now she is trapped and there is nothing we can do." Nyemaane sighed.

"Why don't you just dig her out?" I asked.

"What do you think all of these tunnels are? We dug for years before finding her here. We tried digging her out, but she is under a mountain. If we dig any closer to her. The mountain would crumble under the ice and flood the tunnels with trapped water and mud." Sola explained. "It would be a disaster for the tunnel dwellers."

"Oh… but, there has to be some way to free her." I stumbled.

"There may be, but until we find a way, she will continue to sleep in the ice." Nyemaane said sadly.

"Don't worry Nye, we will find a way, and she will be back with us soon." Sola nuzzled her sister comfortingly.

My vision began to fade again and I sighed deeply. It's strange looking through a gem, but at least I could see. We stood there in silence for a while, but after some time, Fritz began to whine and tug my arm lightly.

"He wants to take you home. We will accompany you." Sola said.

"Okay." I said quietly.

"Here, grab onto me and we will get you there faster." Something smooth and cool touched my hand and I realized that it was Nyemaane's claw. I grabbed her and she helped me onto her back.

"What about Fritz?" I asked.

"Sola will carry him." She answered simply.

I felt her muscles tense as she crouched down, gathering her strength, and then lifted herself up into the air. Remembering how high the ceiling was and how tall the two sisters were, I cringed, waiting for one of them to smash into the ceiling full force. But they didn't. There was a soft humming sound and a strange cold surrounded me. Since Nyemaane and Sola were magical dragons, I assumed they somehow phased through the ice above us.

"_Don't fret mother. We are heading straight for Frozen Gale's den. It is actually not far if you don't take into account how deep in the ice we are." _Nyemaane called me mother again.

"_Nyemaane, what happened to your mother?" _I asked, dreading the answer.

"_She passed away after a massive fight with a clan of warriors who were after her power." _Sola answered me._ "The mongrels were after her power and mortally wounded her. They claimed that they had defeated her in a fair battle and demanded she give them her power as their prize. She fled to Domino to gather strength before she returned and annihilated the warlords and erased almost every trace of their empire of terror. She died soon after giving her flame to the queen of Domino to guard her flame until she returned for it in her next life."_

Sola's story matched my nightmare, and it now made a lot more sense now that I know what happened before. Something is bugging me though, and I was almost afraid to ask, but I needed to know the entire story.

"_Did that happen here?" _I asked quietly.

"…_Yes." _Nyemaane said quietly._ "After the battle, we froze over the planet to start anew. That is how the silver dragon was frozen in ice. We wanted a world untouched by humans. A world that would make you- mother proud."_

I guess I didn't notice this before, but Nyemaane and Sola both sound very young. Not as young as Mink or the baby dragons, but young nonetheless. Even though they are thousands of years old, they are like children.

"_Nyemaane, how old are you?" _I asked.

"_Old considering living things, but young for our kind. We were actually the last children mother created. We were just babies when mother died, babies for our kind, but still over a thousand years old." _Nyemaane answered.

We flew the rest of the way in complete silence. I could tell when we reached Gale's den because I felt her sharp teeth gently pick me up and place me on the ground.

"_Are you alright? Did you find everything you needed to?" _Gale asked.

"_Yeah, I think so."_

"_Mother, I believe it would be best for you to return to your home. Being blind here is a death sentence. Your body is also not made for this climate." _Sola said.

"_We can take you whenever you want, just tell us and we will return you home." _Nyemaane finished.

"_But what about Gale? There is so much I what to ask her." _I rubbed Gale's snout.

"_I can tell you these things later. Right now, your safety is my first concern. You should go back to the Sky Palace and get your eyes checked out. But there is one thing I want you to do for me." _Gale said.

"_What?"_

"_Take Fritz with you. I can't leave glacial because of the temperature, but he can. I trust him to keep you safe."_

Fritz pressed into my side and I knelt down to hug his furry neck._ "Okay. I will come back Gale. I promise." _I said to her.

A warmth enveloped me and I assumed that the two sisters were transporting us back to Enti's palace.

"Bloom?! I didn't think you would be back for a while, have you finished your business on Glacial?" Enti's strong voice made me feel more at ease. "Bloom, what is wrong with your eyes?"

Suddenly, the reality of being blind hit me like a freight train. My vision wasn't completely black, but I could see some differences in shadows and light. I could no longer see defined shapes or color, just shadowy figures that seem far away. Tears began to well in my eyes as I thought of everything that I had lost. I may never see color, my friends and family, or anything else ever again.

"Bloom, what's wrong?" I heard Mink's voice clearly outside my head and felt him nuzzle my cheek. He must have really worked hard on speaking while I was gone.

"I can't see." I choked out, my voice was distorted from trying not to completely break down.

Someone grabbed me at my waist and took off running down the hall. I assumed it was Enti because of how heavy he stepped, but that didn't stop me from momentarily panicking.

I was laid down on something soft and heard Enti roar for Cloud. It was only a moment later when I felt Cloud's soft paws touch me face lightly.

"What in magix happened to you?!" Cloud gasped as she examined my eyes.

I explained what happened on Glacial as best I could. I don't remember all of what happened, probably because of the shock of becoming blind. Cloud continued to poke and prod my face, checking my eyes I guess.

"I will be right back Bloom, I need to go find someone. Stay here and keep your eyes closed." I heard Cloud leave and I was alone. Or at least I thought I was. I felt Fritz's soft fur brush against me and Enti's deep breathing.

I am beginning to notice that I have been able to hear more than normal. I can hear the soft individual wing beats of a fey dragon nearby, Enti's breathing is ragged and I can hear the air run through his throat, I can even hear Fritz's slight purr as he curled up around me.

After a few minutes, I heard Cloud's soft footsteps enter the room, and someone else close behind her. The other had wide steps that were heavy, but they were very quiet. I also heard a very quiet swooshing sound, it reminded me of Abyss' tail when she paced around while she was teaching me how to read draconian… I'm never gonna be able to read words again…

"Bloom, Cloud has told me what happened. Are you okay?" Abyss' smooth voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Other than the fact that I can't see, fine, I guess." I mumbled.

"Bloom," Cloud began softly. "I cannot repair your vision. I have brought Queen Abyss so she can help you learn how to live blind."

"You're not blind, are you Abyss?" I asked cautiously.

"I see color and light differently than most. My color vision is much more advanced, but my eyes don't rely on light. They rely on heat." She explained. "Living in the deep ocean, I need to rely on other things rather than light and color, but I need color to be able to tell what is dangerous and what is edible or useful. Bloom, I would like to teach you to see heat. It will be useful to you in certain situations, but not in others, but it is better than nothing."

"Of course, it would be great to learn to see heat. It's better than seeing nothing." I sighed.

"To do this though, it would be better if we go to my palace. Also, if you come with me, your little guard dragon must stay behind." Abyss chuckled.

"Okay, when do we leave?" I asked her.

"Immediately." She said as I was pulled up away from Fritz and onto another dragon's back. We made our way down the halls of the Sky palace quickly, but I could tell that the dragon I was riding on was trying to hide it.

"Bloom, if you want to return here, tell Abyss and she will take you back immediately." Enti's voice came from under me. _So he is the one carrying me. He has been awful quiet ever since I got back. _I thought to myself.

"Here Bloom, climb on to me." I felt Abyss' dorsal fin brush against my side and I hauled myself onto her back.

"I'll see you soon Bloom." Enti's voice seemed filled with concern, but I couldn't focus on it because of the hum of the portal as Abyss and I passed through it.


	18. Sea Palace

Sea Palace

It has been two days since I have arrived here in the sea palace, and I have still not been able to see with heat. The way all of the water dragons here explain it, it sounds so simple, even though I have to manipulate my magic to be able to do it.

Basically, since I am a beginner, I need to take a breath through my mouth and taste the air, kind of like a snake. Then I need to use my magic to analyze the air to tell what is around me. Experts don't need to do that, they can just stand in a room and sense everything around themselves. I use my dragon's eye often to see what exactly Abyss does to see heat.

She seems to concentrate all of her energy in her throat and mouth, but instead of releasing it, she holds it there as she takes in a deep breath. She stays still for a moment and analyzes it, but then she seems to know exactly where everything is seconds later. She told me that even young dragons must stay in the shallows where it is brighter for years while they perfect heat vision. But I don't have years to perfect this ability. I have been here two days and have already almost been stepped on by multiple dragons.

I feel bad though, Abyss had to basically kick out some reef dragons from several halls of the palace to keep me safe. Reef dragons are massive dragons that can grow reefs on their broad backs. I was almost stepped on my first hour here, so Abyss decided it was unsafe for me and that I should learn as soon as possible. Her mate, King Tsunami agreed and is taking me to the abyssal hunting grounds to help me learn tomorrow. In the meantime, I decided to practice using my dragon eye to get around.

I took a deep breath and concentrated on the eye that was hanging from the chain on my neck. I felt the eye dilate and I was blinded by light. I closed the eye for a moment, and when I stopped seeing spots, I slowly opened them again. I was taken back by the beauty of the Sea Palace.

The walls were a pale blue and the pillars holding up the walls were a beautiful cerulean. There were bright pink coral decorations hanging from the walls that held small flames that dimly lit the halls. I walked down the halls to the large court room and was greeted with an amazing sight. The walls looked like they were made of water and there was three fountains near a large throne. There was a large red coral chandelier that seemed to be on fire.

I walked around the room for a while, taking in its beauty, but then I felt a strange pull to a door behind the large seashell throne. I knew that my dragon eye was going to go out soon, so I quickly pushed open the doors and followed the long hall. There were many doors and other hallways, but I was drawn to one door near the end of the hall.

It was the simplest door out of all of the others I have seen, but I felt that there was something important behind it. I pushed open the large doors and let out a small gasp.

The room was dimly lit with flaming corals, but it was much warmer than all of the other rooms in the palace. At the back of the room, there was a small pool of water. I closed the door behind me and approached the pool. When I reached its edge, I knelt down on my knees and looked down into the shallow water. In the pool, lay several pure white eggs, and upon closer inspection, I noticed small cracks in some of them.

"I'm surprised you found this place." A voice startled me. "I will not be around much longer, Bloom. I will need to care for my children. Don't worry, Tsunami is more than capable of ruling with Enti and Terran, but I do not know if that much testosterone in one room will help or hinder the kingdoms."

"Abyss! I'm sorry I-" I jumped up and stuttered.

"It's fine. Still… How did you find this place?" She moved over the pool and settled down.

"Sola and Nyemaane taught me how to see through my dragon eye. It doesn't last long. It's fading right now actually." I explained as my vision grew dark once again.

"That may be the reason why you are having so much trouble mastering heat vision." Abyss's deep voice came from behind me.

"What do you mean?"

"He means that your mind doesn't see the need for heat vision because you can still see. It might not be for a long time or be functional that often, but you still see. In your mind, this ability isn't exactly necessary for your survival." Abyss explained.

Maybe they are right. I'm not completely blind. I still see some shadows, but only if I am looking at a bright light.

"I have an idea." Tsunami said after a moment. "Come with me."

I felt his tail brush up against me and I grabbed on to it. I allowed him to guide me out of the room and through the halls of the castle. Since I wasn't familiar with this branch of the castle, I had to completely rely on him to keep me from bumping into things and other dragons. After a while, he stopped and I felt something brush up against my hand.

"Put this on." I grabbed onto a necklace made of what felt like round rocks, probably pearls given that most jewelry down here is made of pearls or coral, and placed it around my neck. "It will allow you to breath under water for a while. It will last as long as the pearls are pure white, when they turn blue, you will probably drown."

"So I am going to die since I can't see if the colors are changing." I made a dead pan face at nothing.

"No, I can sense if it is about to run out. Now climb on my back, we are going to the Depths." He moved his foreleg right next to me and I pulled myself onto his back.

Once I was settled, he slid into water. I have to say, it was slightly terrifying going into the water especially since I couldn't see when I was going to be submerged. I held my breath for a moment, and then hesitantly let it out. The water was cold, but the necklace seemed to hold heat as well, so it wasn't too bad.

"_We will need to speak like this down here since you can't see my markings." _Abyss said.

"_See your what?" _I asked, confused.

"_All water dragons have markings lining their bodies that we can make glow to communicate with others. Most are invisible unless we show them though." _He explained.

"_Oh." _Now that I think about it, Abyss had some scales that seemed different on her face and neck. Her scales are small and flat against her body, but there were some that were the same color, but were thin and curved.

We descended for a while, diving deeper and deeper into the frigid water, then we veered off and landed on some kind of horizontal, underwater cliff.

"_Is it too soon to see through your dragon eye?" _Tsunami asked.

"_Yeah, but I may get it to work for a second." _I focused intently on my necklace and began to feel the pupil expand, but I didn't see anything. All around me was black nothingness. I couldn't even see Tsunami who I was sitting on top of.

"_It is working, but I can't see anything." _I said.

"_Good. Light cannot reach these depths. They are the perfect hunting grounds for many large predators who rely on darkness and surprise rather than speed. Now, let go of me."_

I hesitantly let go of Tsunami's back and floated away from him. I felt the water churn as he swam away from me.

"_Find me with your senses."_

It took me forever in a year to find him. We did this stupid game several times over, until I was about in tears. Tsunami suggested that we tried once and then returned to the palace. Then I felt something in the pit of my stomach. Something bad.

"_Bloom! MOVE!" _Tsunami screamed in my head.

Using my power, I launched myself up just as something massive swam under me at an amazing speed. I heard a loud screech and something crash against another thing.

"_Bloom, Run!" _Tsunami roared.

I assumed he was fighting the creature, so I continued to swim towards the surface. I had no idea how much longer the necklace would last or how deep we were, but I knew I needed to get to the surface.

There was a scream of pain and I stopped. I looked down despite myself, but something was different. I could lightly make out some kind of monster with at least ten tentacles and massive teeth, and it was about to clamp those teeth down on King Tsunami's neck.

I felt a rush inside me, like something exploded in my gut, and my dragon erupted out of my chest. I grabbed onto its spine and rode it down to the fight. I smashed into the monster just before it did any more damage to Tsunami.

The monster screeched in anger and came after me again. There was another rush, but this time, it was in my chest. I opened my mouth and let out a earth shaking roar that gradually rose in power and pitch until it was too high for my human ears to hear. The creature was rushing at me before I roared, but now it was hightailing it out of here as fast as it could.

I looked down to Tsunami and saw him begin to sink. He had large gashes on his chest and neck, and the monster took a giant bite out of his shoulder and one of his back fins. My dragon wrapped its long body around him and we began to ascend to the surface.

As we ascended, I began to see more, but not like I used to. Instead of seeing things in color, I saw everything as if I was looking through some kind of infrared camera. This must be how you see in heat vision. I'm not sure what I exactly expected, but with every passing moment, objects became more defined and I was awed that I could still see so much by just using heat.

When we reached the surface, I called for help and several dragons hurried him away. I was led back to my room and slept for the rest of the day. Abyss thanked me over and over again for saving her mate, and promised to take me back to the sky palace as soon as Tsunami was better.

Three days later, Abyss led me to the portal room in the Sea Palace and to the door that led to the Sky Palace. Abyss couldn't stay since her eggs were due to hatch any day now, but she did stay for dinner.

It was great being around Enti and my other friends at the Sky Palace, but I was beginning to get really home sick. I missed my parents, my friends, and Sky. What I missed most of all though, was being around other humans. Living with dragons is cool and all, but I haven't been around another human in months, and I'm starting to forget what it's like.

"We received a message from King Terran this morning." Enti began. "The war on Eraklyon has gotten worse and the kingdom dragons have retreated into the ground to stay out of the way. I was hoping that you could go to the Land Palace when you returned to learn some other skills to make up for your loss of sight, but it is much too dangerous."

"What other skills?" I asked him.

"A form of echolocation and seeing through the ground." Enti replied.

"Seeing through the ground?" I tilted my head.

"The name of the technique has been lost to time, but the gist of it is that you place a hand on the ground and send a burst of magic through the earth to 'see' the layout of the room you are in." Abyss explained.

"Oh, that would be helpful." I can only really see living things or objects that produce heat. I have only been here for a few moments, but I have already walked into multiple walls and decorations. It has gotten so bad that Bo has kept a firm grip on the back of my dress ever since I crashed into a wall and nearly killed myself when a large painting fell over me. Fritz has been a big help, but I kind of forgot our system.

After dinner, Abyss left for home and I returned to my quarters, followed closely by Bo, Fritz, and Leaf. It took me a while to figure out how to get into my bed, but when I did, I slept like a rock. Fritz cuddled up next to me and began to purr. While I missed home, it is great to be back.

"Bloom, time to wake up." Bo woke me the next morning.

"Why?" I yawned.

"Because you need to eat something and Enti has offered for you to spend the days at the pools." He answered.

Remembering my time with Peril, I got up and had Bo pick out a light dress for me. I threw it on and Fritz led me to the dining hall.

Something was wrong though. There was a large crashing sound coming from the dining room. Suddenly, Fritz barreled into me, but something much larger landed on top of us.


	19. Back to School

Back to School

I woke up in a lot of pain. My entire body seemed to ache as I moved my head around to look at my surroundings. I was lying in a large cave with bright blue crystals that glowed a soft blue light.

_It has been a while._ A familiar voice echoed in the cave.

I looked to my other side and saw the silver dragon resting next to me. I tried to sit up, but she pushed me down gently with her nose.

_Stay down. You suffered a heavy blow to most of your body and need to rest._

"Why didn't you tell me you were trapped in a wall of ice?" I asked her.

_It was not important._

"Then why did you lead me on! You said that I would meet you in real life and I finally find you frozen forever in a block of ice!" I felt tears well up in my eyes.

She moved her large wing close to my face and gently wiped away a tear that began to roll down my cheek. I grabbed her wing and allowed her to pull me up onto her back. She turned to a large opening in the cave, and slowly began to lumber out and into a long tunnel. I buried my face in the back of her neck and sighed. It was amazing seeing her again after so long, but I know the truth. I know we will never meet in person. She is just a spirit wandering around and who sometimes appears in my dreams. I know this, but I can't help but feel like we will meet one day.

_Bloom, I can tell that you don't believe me. I need you to trust me though. I know what I am doing. Also, I would never knowingly lie to you._

Her words comforted me slightly. We were nearing what looked like the entrance of the tunnel, and I tightened my grip on her back, afraid that I would wake up. But I didn't wake up… and the end of the tunnel did not lead to the outside like I thought.

The tunnel led to another cave… one that was seemingly made entirely of gold. The walls were engraved with draconian writings. There were several tapestries draped over piles of gold and jewels. On the tapestries… was the crest of Eraklyon.

Suddenly, the largest pile of treasure moved. There was an avalanche of gold as something surfaced from the pile. The dark shape was massive and stretched up all the way to the ceiling. It moved slowly as it took a more solid form. Red eyes glowed from an armored head. It looked at me and I felt an insane amount of anger. One sentence echoed through my head.

_HOW DARE THEY!_

I jolted awake and immediately cried out in pain. My entire body ached as I tried to get comfortable, but it was no use. Everything hurt. It felt like I was crushed by something massive. Slowly, my memory came back. I was walking to the Dining hall with Fritz, and then something busted down the doors and Fritz knocked me out of the way.

I moved my head slightly and saw that I was in my room at the palace. The light blinds moved gently, telling me that the balcony door was probably open. There was two dark shapes waiting just outside the blinds.

"H-elp" I squeaked and my ribs began to hurt.

The two figures jolted up and one pushed the blinds away.

"Bloom, you are awake." Cloud sighed with relief. "I was beginning to worry."

"_What happened?" _I asked, it was easier to talk this way.

"_A challenger came to fight Enti. They fought in several rooms until they made their way into the dining hall. We tried to warn you, but it was too late. Enti threw the challenger through the door and he landed on you and Fritz." _Bo poked his head into the blinds and explained.

"_Is he okay!?" _I asked, suddenly very worried.

"_Furze dragons have thick skin. He is fine, just worried about you." _Cloud answered._ "In fact, he is waiting outside your door. Would you like him to come in?"_

I nodded my head yes and winced in pain. Bo moved to my door and I heard him swing it open. There was the sound of something running to my bed, and then it sounded like it slipped. Something, I assumed it was Fritz, crashed into my bed. The entire bed moved under his weight and I groaned in pain. I felt Fritz scramble up the side of my bed and he began to lick my face.

"Is she awake?" Enti's voice came from the balcony.

"Yes. She is in rough shape, but otherwise alright." Cloud called to him.

"Good. Then she can leave tomorrow." Leave? What does he mean by leave?

I felt Fritz flinch, and then he curled up around me. Bo climbed onto my bed as well and stood over us protectively.

"_Cloud, what's Enti talking about?" _I asked.

She was silent for a moment, and then she sighed. "…Enti wants you to return to your school. It will be safer there."

I sat up quickly, only to fall down again in pain. "Why?" I gasped in between breaths.

"Look at what has happened to you. I know that you are adapting well considering the fact that you have not been blind for that long, but being around people your size is much safer than nearly being flattened by titans every other moment." Cloud touched her snout to me.

"_But-but" _I wanted to argue that I would be fine, but the thought of being with my friends again was too tempting, but then I thought of something. _"Wait, what about the kidnappers?"_

"You will have your own personal guard comprised of several trained dragons of your choice. You will choose them before you leave tomorrow morning." Bo said.

The next day came way too soon. I was completely stiff and still too sore to walk on my own. Bo carried me out of my room and to the main room of the Sky Palace. Enti and several other dragons were waiting for us. Bo placed me on a chair and guided my hand to my dragon's eye necklace so I could look at the volunteers. I activated the eye and looked over them, and I was pleased to see some familiar faces.

Enti named all of the dragons who volunteered to accompany me, but I had already chosen my group. I was to call on five dragons and at least two fey dragons to come with me, and Fritz was to accompany me regardless of who I chose.

"I want PerilousBlaze, Mink, Leaf, and Bo for sure." I said. "and then I think Cerberus and Monarch should be the other two."

Cerberus was a very stout three headed dragon who was only about four to five feet taller than me. He is apparently a hydra, but his body reminded me of a Drake from King Terran's guard. He had four legs and no wings, but had three tails. His three heads had different personalities and controlled one tail each. Monarch was a bright red fey dragon who I have seen before. He is very hot headed and brash, but he works well with Leaf.

After I chose my dragon guard, plans were made to where each would be. Peril and Mink would patrol outside the walls of Alfea while the others would guard the inner walls. Cerberus and Bo would guard the entrance of the school. The feys and Fritz would accompany me at all times unless the other students were uncomfortable with them.

Not long after, Enti guided me to the portal room in the castle.

"For over a hundred years, humans have looked for the Sky Palace. This is why." I heard a humming sound. I quickly activated my eye to Enti fumbling with the portal map. He pulled up Magix and pointed to a place near Alfea. Suddenly, the castle jolted slightly. I stumbled slightly, but Bo and Fritz kept me from falling.

"Welcome back to Magix." Enti chuckled.

"Did the castle actually teleport?" I gasped, this castle is huge, how could it move that fast? Even when I teleport myself, it takes several seconds, but this was almost instant.

"Yes. The great dragon infused the castle with part of her flame. It allows the castle to move quickly, but it cannot be detected through most means." Enti explained "Now hurry. There is a heavy mist that follows the castle so it cannot be seen, but there are many strong fairies below us who will begin to become suspicious."

"My lady, please allow me." Cerberus knelt down and I crawled on his back. He carried me to the main entrance where Mink and Peril were waiting. Cerberus climbed onto Peril's back and Fritz climbed up Mink. Leaf and Monarch landed on my shoulders and clung onto me.

"Is everyone set?" Peril called, Mink and Bo both huffed in response.

I felt Peril take a step forwards and fall off the castle. Cerberus stiffened and crouched down on Perils back. He has probably never flown before, so it must be a bit scary.

I felt Peril land after a few minutes, and then I heard something I haven't heard in a long time.

"Wait, is that Bloom?"

"What? Where?"

"Oh my gosh, it is her!"

"Look, on the back of the big red one! It's Bloom!"

"Bloom!"

Five voices began to grow gradually louder as Cerberus help me off Peril's back. Suddenly, something crashed into me, knocking me to the ground.

"Oh, Bloom! I missed you so much!" Stella's voice brought tears to my eyes.

One by one, I felt more arms surrounding me, and I began to cry. I missed my friends so much over these past months, and now, I was finally back.


	20. Back in the Routine

Back in the Routine

It was great being back at school. I was back with my friends and my sister, I had my old room again, and I already felt much more relaxed having a normal schedule at school, but one thing was a bit annoying. I was being mothered by everyone who passed me by.

"Oh hey, Bloom" a voice called to me, speaking much louder than usual. "Where are you going? Do you need any help?"

"Hey, Bloom, It's me Maria."

"Watch your step, Bloom. You are about to go down the stairs. I can count them out for you."

This was now becoming the normal. I know everyone means well and just want to help, but I feel like I can't do anything. Back at the Palace, I did have some help, but they mostly let me sink or swim. I kind of wish they would do that too. The winx aren't as bad about it, and all of the teachers are more than willing to help me with my work when I need it, but I feel helpless here.

"Morning, Bloom. Did you sleep well?" Flora wakes me up in the morning since I can't find the alarm clock when it goes off. "Stella set out some clothes for you already."

Stella has been helping me get dressed in the morning. On my first day back, I ended up wearing my shirt backwards, my shoes on the wrong feet, and apparently the colors clashed so badly that Stella fainted when I walked out of my room. It was defiantly easier when I just wore boots and a dress from the closet in the Sky Palace.

"Front facing down?" I asked.

"Yeah, just tell me if you need help." She said.

I managed to get my clothes on without much difficulty, and set my pajamas down on my bed with the front facing down again. It is easier knowing what is the front and back of a shirt when it is always set for you facing one way.

"Good morning, Bloom. Where are we going this morning?" Leaf asked me just as I pulled on my shirt.

Fritz and the feys have been a great help to me. Fritz has learned my school schedule perfectly and guides me to other places around the school. He also keeps me from bumping into things like tables or low hanging decorations since I like to hug the walls when I walk down the hall ways. The fey dragons have proven time and time again that size isn't everything especially when it comes to knowledge and memorization. They memorize my class lectures word for word to help me with homework. They are also too small to bother the other students like Fritz does. Fritz might not be that tall, but his body is very long and others often trip over him. The other dragons have settled into life here, some more begrudgingly than others. Cerberus hates everyone and anyone that come near him, Mink is back to being a literal class pet and favorite to all who comes into contact with him, and Peril just flies around the walls of the school and is on constant alert.

"I am going to go visit Daphne. We don't have classes today, so I thought I might spend some time with her." I answered her.

"Will I need to memorize another speech?" Monarch grumbled.

"No one asked you two to do that, but no, I just want to spend some time with my sister." I raised my arm and felt two pairs of claws wrap around my arm.

"You two can stay here and take the day off if you want." The feys squeaked in a halfhearted protest, but relented after a moment.

Fritz led me to Daphne's room quickly, weaving around the other students who each individually asked if I needed any help. I greeted each and politely declined each request. I pushed open the doors to Daphne's room, and was greeted with the sound of pen on paper. _Daphne is as diligent as ever._

"Daphne?" I called out to my sister.

"Oh, Bloom! How are you?" I heard her get up out of her chair and after a moment, a pair of arms wrapped around me. I hugged her back.

"I'm good. How are you?" I responded.

"Good. I am trying to get some grading out of the way so I can spend the weekend with Thoren. Oh, while you were gone, Saladin offered him a job at Red Fountain. We are both pretty busy now, but we try and get as much time as we can together over the weekends and breaks." She led me to her desk and we both sat down.

It didn't take long for the two of us to lose track of time. Daphne began to work as we spoke after it became clear that there was no end to our conversation in sight. I offered to leave and we would continue later, but she insisted that it was fine. Fritz fell asleep on the floor near me, bored of our conversation topics.

"Oh, wow. Would you look at the time." Daphne said suddenly.

"Wow. That is an interesting thing." I said sarcastically.

"Sorry." Daphne suddenly sounded nervous, probably afraid she offended me with the mentioning of looking at something.

"No harm done. What time is it?" I asked.

"Almost time for dinner." She sighed.

"No way. We have been talking all day?" I was a bit shocked. It didn't feel like we'd been talked for that long.

"I guess so. Come on, let's go get some food." We stood up and Daphne linked her arm with mine. Fritz jolted awake, and led the way to the dining hall.

"Bloom, Daphne, over here!" Stella's voice called to us as we entered the dining hall. Daphne led me to them while Fritz tried and failed miserably to stay out from under people's feet. He tried to squeak warnings to the other girls, but they were rarely heeded, and several girls fell flat on the ground because of it. It finally came to the point to where Fritz stood up on his back legs, which now made him over seven feet tall, and waddle to where my friends were.

"That's one way to deal with people stepping all over you." Flora laughed.

"Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do." Musa chuckled, scratching under Fritz's chin.

"So, how has your day been?" Aisha asked, but there was no answer. "Oh! Bloom, sorry. I was asking you."

"Oh, my bad. My day was pretty good. Spent most of it just talking to Daphne." I answered.

"No, that was my fault. You don't act like someone who just went blind, so I forget you are sometimes. I should have stated that I was talking to you." Aisha apologized.

"I didn't just go blind. I have been blind for almost a month and a half. I also use some heat vision to get around, so I am not completely blind. Also, I feel more secure here. I don't have to worry about being stepped on by a dragon." I chuckled, but the others didn't find it funny.

I have been dealing with the fact that I am blind much longer than them. I can't really blame them. I would probably feel awkward as well if one of them disappeared for several months, with no ability to contact them, and then they come back blind with an entourage of dragon guards.

"Hey, your dragon friend Cerberus has been causing a bit of trouble." An unfamiliar voice behind me made me jump. I turned around.

"What have they been doing?" I asked.

"HE keeps stalking around the place talking to himself in different voices. He is freaking everyone out."

I felt myself get irritated at her ignorance and high and mighty attitude. "Do you know why he does that?"

"Why?" I could hear the irritation and obvious disinterest in her voice.

"Because he is a Hydra. And since you obviously do not know what that entails, that means that he has multiple heads each with their own personality and needs. He is lucky in the sense that he only has three heads, but they still bicker with each other pretty regularly. I am surprised you don't know this. I learned about Hydras in my first year." I said simply.

It seemed like all of the dining hall went quiet. Then someone started to clap. Followed by more and more clapping as others joined in. The girl turned on her heel and walked off in a huff.

"What was that about?" I turned back to my friends.

"That was Meghan. She is an exchange student from Beta and has become a bit of a tyrant in the school. The ones who don't want trouble listen to her, and the ones who do stand up to her become targets of her harassment. We tried putting her in her place, and several students went to the teachers, but she manages to wiggle out of everything somehow." Tecna explained.

"Oh, well she won't be pushing me around. The dragons will straight up spit in her face if she dares to do anything like that to them. I don't even want to think about what they would do if she decided to mess with me." I muttered.

After dinner, we all went outside to play with Mink. Cerberus joined us as well, but he stayed pretty quiet. It was a bit concerning. He always talks to himself, even if it is just low rumbling.

"Cerberus, is something wrong?" I asked him as the others played keep away with Mink and a large pink ball.

"Do I sound crazy?" He asked me.

"No, why do you ask?" I touched his middle head, and the other two nipped my hands for attention as well.

"I believe the other students think I am crazy because we talk to each other." He sighed.

"Well, they just don't know how hydras work. I told off someone for mentioning that not long ago." I moved my hand down two of his faces as the third waited patiently.

"Is that why they look at me strangely?" He asked.

"I think so. I was surprised that they didn't know. I remember learning about hydras here, so they either weren't listening or simply forgot that hydras are like this." I kissed each heads nose, and smiled at him. "Maybe if you call them out on it and explain, they won't think it is strange."

"Maybe…" One of his heads turned and then it yelled. "What are you looking at?!"

I was a bit taken back, but I was glad he finally was doing something. I heard the quick shuffling of feet and the slamming of a door. Apparently someone was too ashamed to apologize.

"You should never feel judged by others because of what you are. You can't help it, and they can't change it. You are the strong, intelligent, and cunning Cerberus." I rested my head on his chest and felt him breathe in. "You are perfect the way you are."

That night, as I settled into my bed, I could hear Bo land on the balcony. Flora opened the window, and Bo entered the room.

"What's wrong, Bo?" I asked.

"Something is amiss in the air. PerilousBlaze has requested for me to stay close to you tonight." Bo said.

"Oh… Okay." Flora sounded unsure.

"Bo, you are to stay outside of the room. Only come in if something urgent happens." I commanded. I may be blind, but I knew Flora was a bit uncomfortable with the thought of Bo watching us sleep.

I settled down into my bed and Fritz curled up at the foot of it. The Feys were already peacefully sleeping in a pillow Flora cut open for them to nest in. Kiko slept on a pillow near my head, and after a few minutes, the soft sounds of deep breathing filled the room. I thought back on the day, and slowly, I drifted off to sleep as well.

In the middle of the night, something stirred me from my sleep. Something that was terrifyingly familiar. A wet rag was over my face, and I was being carried by someone. My eyes tore open and I tried to thrash around, but my body felt like stone. Every inch of me felt cold and heavy. My eyes darted around, looking for the dragons, but I couldn't see any of them.

Suddenly, a deafening roar split the air. I looked up to see Peril diving down towards me. My eyes welled with tears of relief as my rescuer dive-bombed the small group kidnapping me.

If only she had just stayed away. One of the men pulled what looked like an Earth anti-aircraft gun. I watched in horror as he launched the weapon into the air and hit Peril straight in the chest. On impact, the weapon burst into flames and Peril crashed to the ground. All I could do was watch my friend be engulfed in flames as I was carried off into the night.


	21. Search

Search

No one's POV

Faragonda rushed into the Winx room and gagged at the stench that permeated from it. She immediately recognized the gas as a powerful sleeping agent, and dispelled it with a simple spell. Faragonda opened each room and ushered out each sleepy girl, but when she entered Flora and Bloom's room, her heart dropped to her stomach.

Bo lay on the floor with a knife protruding from his neck, Fritz looked like a lifeless lump of fur sprawled out on the floor, and the fey dragons were nowhere in sight, and Bloom was missing too.

_They had done it. The kidnappers succeeded._

A roar sounded off in the distance. Out of the window of the room, Faragonda Watched the large red dragon burst into flames and crash into the forest near Lake Roccaluce. Cerberus was the one to alert Faragonda to the situation, and Mink had flown off to get Peril who was scouting the forest._Mink… Where is he?_

Sky's POV

Things have actually seemed to calm down. We have finally gotten through to the higher ups in the rebellion, and have been gathering information through back and forth letters. Their letters are still blunt and blatantly denounce my father as king, but they aren't complete savages. Because of our letters, the fighting has slowed to minor spats instead of full blown conflicts, which is good or bad depending on your own ideals.

I actually thought our talks were going somewhere, so none of us were expecting the hologram message we received.

"In light of recent events, it has come to my attention that I have pulled the trump card in my deck." The hooded man in the hologram chuckled as a long haired woman was pulled on screen "May I introduce Princess Bloom of Domino, but I have heard that you two have met before… and are more than friends."

I have never seen Bloom so out of it. Her eyes were distant and cloudy, her hair was a mess, and she looked like she was still in her pajamas. I looked to my father for something, anything to assure me that he knew what to do, because I was at a loss.

"If you wish for the safe return of the Princess, Erandor is to turn over his crown to the rightful heir of Eraklyon." And with that, the message ended.

A dark look crossed my father's face. "This is not good."

Daphne's POV

I don't think I have ever been so upset in my entire life. Faragonda called me early to inform me that the rebels had finally succeeded in kidnapping Bloom. But how? The rebels gave up on Alfea almost a month ago, and how did they get past the dragons? Sure there weren't many of them here, but they had a well thought out patrol routine that had few to no gaps in it.

Thoren was by my side as we raced into Alfea. The dragons were nowhere to be seen, but it seemed like the Winx and their boyfriends were waiting for us outside the Headmistress' office.

"Daphne, I'm so sorry!" Flora was crying. "I should have been able to do something!"

I stared at her in shock. What in the world happened? "It's not your fault. It is none of your fault. For now, we need to focus on finding out how they got in and where they took Bloom."

Faragonda's office door open and Griselda stepped out. "I am so glad all of you came so quickly." She let out a sigh. "You are not going to believe what happened."

We entered the room to find Faragonda staring out her window and Meghan sobbing uncontrollably. _No way… She couldn't have._

At the sound of the door opening the two turned around, and Meghan froze. She ran to me and fell to the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried. "I didn't know that they would get her! I thought that the dragons or something would stop them, but they got her!"

"She informed a rebel sympathizer that Bloom was here and told them the basics of the dragon's routine." Faragonda said. "Cerberus found her packing her bags and took her to me.

"Where are the dragons?" I asked. I was trying to hide the anger in my voice, but I failed miserably.

"Bo and Fritz are in the infirmary, Roxy is caring for them. Perilous Blaze crashed into the forest last night, so I have sent Wizgiz and Palladium to find her. Mink and the fey dragons have been gone since last night. We can't find them anywhere." Faragonda said.

"This has gone on long enough." I said after a moment, startling everyone with the harshness in my voice. "The rebels on Eraklyon have gone too far. They were courting trouble by just thinking about attacking her, but now… they will regret this. Domino will get involved and put an end to this madness."

I turned around without another word and exited the room, Thoren followed me closely.

"Daph, are you sure that is a good idea?" He asked gently as we entered my classroom.

"…I don't know." My voice cracked. "But they have gone way too far. If they think that they can kidnap a princess without any consequences, they have another thing coming."

Thoren cupped my cheeks in his hands and wiped away the tears from my eyes. I didn't realize that I started crying. He leaned in and kissed me gently. "I agree completely, but if we rush into this too fast, Bloom might suffer more in the long run. For now, we should get in contact with your parents. They need to know what has happened. We should probably tell you mother first. Your father would go mad if we just tell him straight up that she was kidnapped."

I laughed softly at the thought, and sank into Thoren's arms.

Enti's POV

"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!" I roared as Monarch relayed the news of Bloom's kidnapping.

"Enti, calm down! Everyone is surprised and upset!" Abyss scoffed, she was unhappy to be summoned away from her clutch that were mere days from hatching, but Bloom was a friend of hers as well so she answered immediately.

We looked down onto the Fairy School, trying to decide if we should confront the Headmistress.

I was all for it, but Abyss was more reserved.

"I have no idea where my dragons are, Bloom is missing, and so is my Daughter! We need to go down there now!" I growled.

"And do what? Terrify several generations of fairies and set relations back another thousand or so years?! Abyss smacked me lightly on the head with her tail.

"King Enti!" A voice called to me. A young guard dragon flew up from the woods and landed in front of us.

"What is it?" I asked, a little too harshly.

"We have found Perilous Blaze," He squeaked.

"Show me." I followed the dragon down to the forest and to the Lake Roccaluce. There she was. My precious Daughter was lying half in and half out of the lake. Her chest had several burn marks, and her wings were tattered as well. It looked like her left foreleg was broken and her face was contorted with pain.

"Peril?" I called to her softly, and her ear slightly twitched.

Without opening her eyes, she answered me with her thoughts. _"Father?"_

"_I am here, my sweet little blaze… I am here."_ I curled around my daughter and rested my head by hers. It was obvious she was in pain, so I didn't want to disturb her by taking her to the palace. All I could do was keep her safe and warm while she gathered her strength as we waited for Cloud to get here.

Bloom's POV

"Don't worry Bloom, I'll find a way to get you out of here." Leaf whispered to me

Apparently, when I was being kidnapped, Leaf crawled into my pajamas so she would be taken wherever I was taken. I was glad that she was here. The rebels took my necklaces, including my dragon eye and it was too cold to use my heat vision to survey my surroundings.

All I knew was that I was huddled in a corner of a cold cell with nothing but some light pajamas and a fey dragon to keep me warm.

Something was attached to my wrist. It was probably the thing that was keeping me from using my powers. _The rebels really thought of everything, huh?_

Suddenly, I heard something in the very back of my mind.

"B_loom?" _I could place that voice anywhere.

"_Mink? You followed us?" _I called out with my mind.

"_Don't worry. Help is on the way! Enti has been informed and he should have already sent a messenger to king Terran. They will help me save you!"_ He said.

King Terran is on Eraklyon? Good. At least I should be out of here soon.


	22. Together Again

Together again

Bloom's Pov

I thought it was scary being alone and blind, but being imprisoned, alone and blind is so much worse. I know there are bad people around me, but I don't know where they are. I know they are not afraid of hurting me, but I can't defend myself. I have never been so scared in my life.

Another strong shiver jolted through my body and I winced as my entire body convulsed. The fear alone is bad enough, but with the addition of cold and the complete silence, I felt like I was going to go mad. Mink's voice disappeared some time ago, and Leaf went to try and find a way out, but it has been a long time. I hope nothing's happened to her.

"Oh, girl." A familiar voice echoed through my cell. "Dinner time, and the boss said if you don't eat this, I have to force feed you. So, do us both a favor and eat."

I grimaced as a tray of food slid across the floor, making a horrible sound, and hit my side. I have been offered many meals since I got here, but I have refused to eat. I am starving, but I refuse to do anything they want. It might not be much of a victory, but every act of defiance seems to give me a little more strength. I pushed the tray back, hard. I felt a smile cross my face as its contents spilled across the floor and the man curse.

I feel a little bad though. The only job this man seems to have is to deliver food to me, and I have rejected each meal. But, if this man does indeed try to force feed me, all bets are off. I will hurt him.

"Oh come on!" The man cried. "This was supposed to be an easy job that would keep me out of the war zone! Do you really have to be this difficult?"

Is he really this dense? His people kidnapped me and are holding me hostage! Of course I am going to be difficult!

"It has been almost four days since you last ate, aren't you hungry?" His tone changed. He is switching tactics, trying to use my mind against me. It was hard enough being unsure how long I had gone without food or water, but now knowing the exact time made it so much worse. "Come now. You must be dying for at least a drink. Here."

Something that felt like a straw was pressed against my lips and I could practically smell the cool water that was only a sip away. My throat constricted and my entire body seemed to moved forwards towards the drink, but I didn't open my mouth. I was not going to give in. I won't give him the satisfaction.

"Humph, fine. I'll be back with some reinforcements." He left my cell, leaving the drink near my head. Probably to try and tempt me into drinking.

"Here she is." the voice along with several other pairs of footsteps reentered my cell after a while. "You two, hold her down, you keep her jaw open, I'll make sure she eats and drinks her fill this time."

Terror shot through my body as two large pairs of hands grabbed me and forced me to sit up. Another pair held my head and forcefully opened my mouth. And another began to shove a tube down my throat. I couldn't resist this time. He poured water down the tube and I shivered as it hit my empty stomach. Soft foods were then poured down the tube as well and the hunger pains in my stomach began to melt away.

As soon as the man was satisfied that I had "eaten" enough, he pulled the tube out of my throat and I was left. Crying, alone, and once again in complete silence.

Sky's Pov

Things have once again gotten worse, and the only people to blame are the rebels. Domino has give us an official warning that if Bloom was not found within five days, they would get involved in the War as well. My father and mother have done everything to convince Oritel and Marion otherwise, but nothing has come of it. They even said that Daphne was adamant for involvement as well, which was surprising to say the least, but then again, her little sister was kidnapped. Everyone here has been going crazy trying to find the rebel's base or where they are holding Bloom, but nothing has been found.

"I don't understand why we are doing this just for Bloom." Diaspro muttered to her personal guard. I wanted to whip around and glare at her. To let her know I heard that, but I was too worried about other things.

We have been getting numerous reports that the dragons on Eraklyon have been getting anxious and even attacking troops. Normally, this would go unnoticed. Dragons are territorial creatures and normally keep to themselves or to a small group, so if a soldier got too close to one, it would without a doubt attack, but these attacks were different. Dragons would come from nowhere and attack soldiers, rebels or not. Both sides were fair game to the dragons and some have even claimed that dragons have jumped into the middle of battles.

"Prince Sky!" A voice called to me and I turned around to see one of our messengers running towards me at full speed. He stopped short of barreling into me, it was obvious that something big was happening. "A dragon named Mink wishes to speak to you!"

_Mink is here?_ "Show me." I commanded. The messenger took off with me hard on his heels.

Sure enough, the golden wyvern was waiting for us not far from our main camp. I ran to meet the young wyvern, and he screeched excitedly when he saw me.

"PRINCE!" He screeched.

Since when has he been able to speak? "Mink, what are you doing here?"

"BLOOM! DANGER! FOLLOW!" His sentences were not complete, but clear as day. He knew where Bloom was and that was all we needed to know.

"Can you lead me to her?" I called out to him, and his head bobbed up and down.

That was the first good news I have heard in a long time. I gathered some soldiers and informed my father of this new information. The rebels aren't going to know what hit them.

Enti's Pov

I have gathered my armies and moved the Sky Palace to the Skies of Eraklyon. If everything goes right, Mink and or Leaf will return with the whereabouts of Bloom. Just as I thought of her, Leaf rocketed into the room, colliding with my side, hard. She was much too small to do any damage to me, probably only moving a scale out of place, but she didn't seem fine. Her small insect like wings were bent, not broken, but she defiantly won't be flying for a while.

"King Enti, I know where Bloom is! Mink has gone to alert the rulers of Eraklyon, but there isn't much time! The compound she is being held in is on the back of an earthmover. It is resting at the moment, but it won't be for long." She gasped.

I bent down and closed my mouth around her. Her small body was not touched by my teeth, so I could easily carry her to the portal room.

Bloom's Pov

I was completely surrounded by silence, but I felt someone was watching me. Someone I was familiar with, but not at the same time. Hatred poured from this person in waves, sweeping over my body and sending chills down my spine. A snarl echoed through the room, and it felt like a small fire ignited in my core. No, not in my core… in my dragon fire. The only person I can recall who has cause a feeling similar to this was Valtor, but it was still much different.

Valtor's flame was exactly the same as my own. I hesitated to correct others when they told me that he was formed of a dark ember of the dragon fire. I was afraid what others would think if I told them our powers were not just born of the same creature, but of the same substance. His fire was just used for evil, masking its good energy with bad. This person though, their energy was similar to my own, but different. It was like two different sides of a coin. Formed of the same magic. Similar, yet opposite.

"Patience, my dear," A voice broke the silence. "You shall face her when you are stronger. She would dominate a battle against you. All we must do is collect the powers of the Guardian Dragons and then you can absorb the dragon fire, in its entirety."

_Absorb the Dragon fire? In its entirety? So she has part of the dragon fire as well? But it's so much darker than my own…_ Another growl, much louder than the first, reached my ears. It was terrifying, knowing that one who wants your power is standing near you while you lie there, completely helpless.

"Come, there is no need to upset yourself any more. Besides, we are closing in on the keep of Eraklyon. Once you absorb his magic, you will be one step closer to completing your power." The voice spoke again.

Footsteps and the absence of the growling told me that I was alone once again. I wanted to cry. I wanted to so badly. Even if I was terrified, it was better than being alone and blind.

"_Bloom?" _Mink's voice brought tears to my eyes.

"_Mink? Where are you?"_ I cried out to him.

"_Outside the keep with help. Leaf made it out and has gone to alert Enti of the situation. Can you guide me to you?"_

"_How am I supposed to guide you? I can barely move!"_ I was on the verge of a full blown panic attack.

"_Just keep talking to me. I will track the sound of your voice. Also, if you can, take cover. I am too big to go through the halls." _I couldn't help but laugh. He was so young and yet I was depending on him to save me. It was only a few months ago that I was saving him from dragon hunters.

"_Can you tell me where we are?" _I asked.

"_The rebel base is on the back of an earthmover, basically a giant lizard-turtle thing that an entire biome can fit on. It has been making its way to the Keep of Eraklyon for a while now, so I waited until it was resting to get help so I knew where it would be." _He answered, his voice was a bit louder now.

"_What is the Keep of Eraklyon?" _I have heard of this place twice now, but still had no idea what that even was.

"_It is where the guardian dragon of Eraklyon lived. What few people know is that this planet was named after the guardian dragon, so people think it is some royal thing, but it isn't. Eraklyon, the dragon, was a big figure in this planet's history. He used to name true kings, even if the king he named was not related to royals. He disappeared thousands of years ago, and his keep was locked up tight as well. I think the rebels are trying to awaken him." _Mink explained.

An image shot through my mind. Piles of gold and riches… The crest of Eraklyon… and an armored dragon. Did my dream with the silver dragon take me into the keep?

"_Mink, who have you brought-" _A loud crash above me cut me off.

"Bloom?" A familiar voice brought forth a new wave of tears. Strong arms wrapped around me and I cried into Sky's chest. "Everything's going to be alright now. You're safe." He whispered in my ear.

I knew we didn't have long, so I dried my eyes after a moment and Sky untied me. I could hear fighting nearby and guessed that Mink's loud entrance through the ceiling did not go unnoticed.

I felt Mink's snout touch my cheek. _"Grab on!"_ He cried.

I wrapped my arms around his head and felt him pull me up and out of the cell. Suddenly, I remembered something. "Wait! My necklaces! They took all of my necklaces!"

"Wow, Bloom. Even I wouldn't whine about a stupid necklace." A voice hissed. I recognized the voice as Diaspro's.

"No, you don't understand! One of the necklaces is a key to the Sky palace! I have to get it back!" I let go of Mink and dropped back into the Rebel base where Sky and his men were still fighting.

"Bloom, what are you doing?!" Brandon's voice called out to me as I took in a breath.

Then, I remembered something else. I ripped the thing off of my arm. Energy coursed through my body and my heat vision activated immediately. Looking around, I let my senses wander, searching for the key. I found it not far away, just around the corner actually, hanging on a wall with my other two necklaces.

I raced around the corner and grabbed the necklaces off of the wall. Just as I put the three around my neck, I sensed the presence again. I had my magic back, but something inside me commanded my body to run. I ran back to Mink and the others, tripping over rubble the entire way and nearly running headlong into a wall, and as soon as I made it back to Mink, he grabbed me with his jaws and pulled me up again.

"_Quick, climb on!"_ Mink didn't have to tell me twice. I jumped on his back and wrapped my arms around his neck. He took a couple steps, and took off. I was finally free of that horrid place.


	23. The Earth Palace

The Earth Palace

Bloom's Pov

When we reached the base camp, Sky ran to Mink and helped me down. I never really thought of how I would explain to him that I am blind. Before I returned to Alfea, it never sank in that I was never going to see my friend's faces again. It was a sad realization, but the girls wouldn't let me be sad about it. Sky, on the other hand… I don't know what to do. How should I tell him?

"Bloom, are you alright?" Sky held me close to him.

I opened my mouth to speak, but instead, I began to sob. I buried my face in his chest and just cried. I had no idea who was around me, but I didn't care. I was just so thankful to be safe and back with him, and I was also unsure how I was going to explain my eyes… I had no idea what to do, so I just started to cry.

Sky just held me close and whispered into my ear. "You're safe now. Everything's alright." After a while, Sky picked me up bridal style and carried me into what I assumed to be a tent. I was still crying. I just couldn't stop.

"_Don't cry, Bloom. Don't cry."_Mink pleaded with me, his own voice sounding a bit thick with emotion. I often forget how young he is. It was only a few months ago that he was just a bit taller than me, but now, he towers over most humans. Dragons grow a lot over their first few years of life. If they didn't, they would be picked off by predators.

Sky sat me down on what felt like a bed and then sat next to me. He continued to hold me closely until I had calmed down enough for him to realize that something was wrong with my eyes.

"Bloom, what happened?" I felt his hand brush my cheek, wiping tears from my face.

Everything came gushing out. I told him about Thanatos and his clan, the Sky and Sea Palaces, and about Sola and Nyemaane. He listened quietly, which was both relieving and making me more anxious than before. I couldn't see his reactions or anything, so I could only assume he was listening.

After I finished explaining everything, he hugged my tightly again, and pushed me down on the bed. "After everything you have been through, you should rest. You will be going back to Domino tomorrow."

I felt him lie down next to me and I cuddled up to his chest. I wanted to argue, to tell him that I was not going to just leave him now that I have just been reunited with him, but my exhaustion won out. I was far beyond the point of tired, I was lying in a comfortable bed, and the first time in days, I felt safe.

The next morning, Sky and I woke up to a large commotion outside of the tent. Sky jumped out of bed with a firm 'Stay here.'

I would have done what he said, had I not recognized the roar of a familiar dragon. I jumped out of the bed as well and stumbled out of the tent.

"Cerberus, I am here!" I called out.

"Bloom!" Sky and Cerberus yelled to me at the same time.

The sound of four large feet, stampeded over to me. I reached up as his three heads began to sniff and check me over. I hugged the middle neck and the other two grumbled with happiness.

"Are you alright? I am so sorry I couldn't find you sooner." Cerberus' three heads cried at the same time. "Don't worry, I am here to take you to the Earth Palace."

"Earth Palace? Isn't that where King Terran lives?" I asked, stepping away from the hydra.

"Yes. The King and Prince Quake have been searching for you. They have made an important discovery and wish you to be present at the site." Cerberus knelt down, beckoning me to climb onto his back.

"Where are we going?" I pulled myself up on his leg and he lifted me onto his broad back.

"To the palace under the Dragon Mountain not far from here." Cerberus stood up and began to turn, but something stopped him.

"Bloom isn't going anywhere without me!" Sky said firmly. He must be standing in front of Cerberus.

"And your armies will not go anywhere without you." Cerberus growled. "Know that your presence will do no good in the Earth Palace. She will be safe with us. No human has found the palace and lived in years."

There was some rustling nearby followed closely by audible gasps and yelps of panic. With my heat vision, I could tell that several dragons had entered the camp. I grabbed my dragon's eye and activated it to get a better look at the dragons.

They were small, probably only five feet tall, and wingless. Their sleek bodies and frills were an obsidian black and the spikes lined their back were either a bright green or purple. All five of them had a long horn on the top of their heads that were tipped red.

"I disagree, dragon." I recognized the voice of King Erendor immediately. "Our generals are capable of leading our armies in my absence. I wish to meet this… King of yours, and inquire why he has a palace on Eraklyon without my knowing."

I knew this wasn't going to end well, but surprisingly, Cerberus relented and agreed to lead Sky and his father to the castle. I feel like Terran will be able to handle Erendor well, but I have never met his son. Things could go bad, but we won't know until we get there. Sky offered to use his ship and take us to the palace in a flash, but all of the dragons were firm in wanting to walk. I remember how tense Cerberus was when he rode on Peril's back. Suddenly, I remembered what happened to the heir of the Sky Palace.

"Cerberus, do you know what happened to Perilous Blaze?" I asked him as we walked through what sounded like a jungle.

"She suffered several broken bones and some bad burns, but other than that, she is fine. Enti found her and she was taken to the Sky palace for healing."

"The Sky Palace? Isn't that place just a myth?" Sky asked.

"No, it is not. The Sky Palace is very real, and so is its lord, King Enti of the sky dragons." Cerberus said roughly. He might still be angry because of what Erendor said about King Terran. Cerberus is a land dragon, so Terran is his ruler. No one would like it if their ruler was insulted.

Sky's Pov

Bloom looked so calm with the hydra. She quietly rode on his back, and at times seemed to be communicating with him. The smaller dragons surrounded them like a small guard squadron. They are too small to do any real damage though, or is there something about them I don't know?

"Bloom, do you know what kind of dragons these are?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"They are venom dragons. Their spines and teeth emit several different types of venom and poison to either stun, wound, or slowly kill their prey. They are excellent guards and will keep us safe from just about everything." Cerberus said bluntly.

He has been blunt this entire trip and I was beginning to get tired of it. I was about to say something, but he suddenly stopped. He sniffed the air and began to scratch at the ground with his sharp claws.

"What are you-" I jumped back in surprise as a massive slab of land was suddenly lifted up. Under the slab, several wingless dragons could be seen from the darkness.

"Cerberus, who are they? You were instructed to bring the girl alone." One large dragon hissed.

This dragon was not like the others. He was long and muscular, but it didn't look like he had scales. It seemed like he was covered by a thick skin and was covered in dark scars. He had several long horns protruding from the back of his head and the tip of his tail was weaponized with a brutal looking blade.

"This is Prince Quake, grandson of King Terran and heir to the Earth throne." Cerberus explained. "This is Prince Sky and King Erendor of Eraklyon, my prince. They insisted on coming with Bloom."

"I see… Come. My grandfather is waiting, as soon as we meet him, we are to leave for the Keep."

"Keep? What Keep?" My father asked.

"The Keep of Eraklyon." The dragon prince said simply as he turned around and descended into the darkness.

I pulled out my sword and allowed it to glow brightly enough to illuminate the path ahead of us. Cerberus snarled when I drew the blade, so I held it low, not wanting to trigger an attack from any of the dragons around us.

After about five minutes of walking, the tunnel opened up into a massive cave that was lightly illuminated by large, green crystals. Stone pathways crisscrossed throughout the cave and all seemed to lead to the massive building that seemed to be hanging upside down on the ceiling.

As we drew closer to the building, I realized that it was an ancient castle.

"Incredible." My father breathed. "How have we not found this somewhere in our history?"

"Because the castle is like the other two. It can teleport anywhere in Magix, as long as the area is big enough, right?" Bloom asked prince Quake.

"Yes. We moved the castle when a certain presence was sensed."

"Is the presence with the rebels?" She asked quietly.

"So you two have met… and yes, that is the presence we sensed." I just assumed Quake was being blunt, but I guess I was just behind on the conversation.

"What presence?" I asked, and was immediately shot a dirty glare by the dragon prince.

"The presence of one who could kill her and take over this planet with ease. It's a miracle that you humans saved her in time before she was hurt." Cerberus spat. Are they implying that this is my fault?

"Cerberus, I saw- felt the presence of this person. They were being guided by another who told them that they were not strong enough to face me. I sensed the presence again just before we got out." Bloom said.

"…Well then, we need to get to the Keep as soon as possible." No one spoke again for the rest of the walk to the castle. Two large, wingless dragons guarded the large double doors of the palace and pushed them open as we approached.

From the look of the outside, I assumed it was just an old, worn down, castle, but I was very wrong. The inside was plated with gold and covered wall to wall with intricate designs. Brilliantly colored drapes were hung on windows and several large paintings of gorgeous scenery and mythical creatures adorned the walls.

Quake led us to a large throne room where an old dragon that seemed to be the same species as the dragon prince was sitting on a throne of rare gemstones. He must be the King. Bloom slid off of Cerberus' back and walked up the old beast.

"It's good to see you again Terran." Bloom reached out an arm and the dragon touched his snout to her hand. Terran let out a low rumble.

"It is good to see you too. I wish we had some more time so I could help teach you as my fellow dragon rulers have, but we have some business to attend to." Terran stood up and stretched, his old bones popping as he moved his long body. "My messengers have already reported that the rebels are on the move and not far from the Keep. If we are to beat them to the Keep, we must hurry. Come."

"Wait one second." My stomach dropped when my father spoke up. "I have some things I need to discuss with you two."

Terran stopped, but made no move to look at him. "I would like to discuss why you think you have the right to teleport your palace onto our lands without any permission, and-"

"Allow me to educate you on time management." Terran turned his head slightly, cutting my father off. "If we stop to discuss something that caused no harm when you didn't know we were here, the rebels will be one step closer to Eraklyon and taking over your kingdom. Now, let us continue."

Terran and Quake led us through a door behind the throne and down a long hallway. At the end of the hall, there was a large set of silver doors guarded by a small golden hydra with five heads. The hydra opened the doors and moved aside for the old king. Inside the room was a large map of Magix in amazing detail ingrained on the back wall. Terran touched the planet Eraklyon and the map rippled and expanded to show a complete map of the planet.

"What is this?" I breathed.

"This is the portal room. The castle can open doors and even teleport to known locations. We have found and know the exact location of the Keep, so we are going to open a portal there." Quake explained.

Terran chose a specific mountain in the middle of the badlands, and the map hissed with energy. There was a whooshing sound to my left, and I turned to see a portal had opened.

"This portal shall take us to the Keep. It won't be long until the rebels arrive there, so we must hurry." Terran said as he approached the portal.

I walked up to Bloom and grabbed her hand. "Are you sure about this?" I whispered in her ear. Everything was happening so fast. I had no idea if we could, or even should trust these dragons.

"Yes. Terran is the oldest and wisest of all three dragon rulers. If he thinks this is the best way to stop the Rebels, than I trust him completely." Bloom said, her voice unwavering. Hearing her say that reassured me. I looked to my father and nodded my head.

Terran, Quake, and Cerberus walked through the portal and the three of us followed close behind. There was no telling what we would be on the other side of the portal, so we stuck close to the dragons.

The light from the portal was blinding, to say the least, and once I had entirely stepped through, I opened my eyes to find a bit of a disappointing sight. We were standing in a large, dusty cave with a large, golden symbol on the back wall.


	24. Rage of Eraklyon

24 Rage of Eraklyon

Sky's Pov

Bloom and Terran made their way to the seal on the wall. "This is the only thing standing between us and the Keep. No one knows what it says, for it seems to be in a language older than old draconian." Terran told her.

Bloom reached her hand out and touched the golden seal. A cloud of dust fell from the gold and caused her to cough.

"What exactly will be behind the seal?" My father asked.

"The Guardian Dragon of Eraklyon." Quake said bluntly.

"The Guardian Dragon? The beast disappeared eons ago. Why is he just coming up now?" My father scoffed.

I remember hearing my father tell stories of Eraklyon's Guardian Dragon. It chose true kings regardless of who the man or woman was. Its name was lost to time years ago, but its reputation will probably live forever. It was supposedly as tall as a mountain and covered in golden scales. It was said to be the strongest creature in all of Magix at the time, seconded only by the Great Dragon.

"So, how do we get in?" I asked, approaching Bloom and the dragon rulers.

"The Keep will only open in response to the Guardian Dragon or a special key word that is hidden in the seal. The seal is in an ancient draconian language, and only Bloom will be able to read it." Terran said.

"If only Bloom can read it, then why don't we let it be?" I asked. "The rebels won't be able to get in, so they will have to give up."

"Because there is something more coming. An ancient power has awoken, power just as old as the dragon fire, and is heading for the Keep. We need to get to the guardian first before this power and protect it." Quake snarled.

"How will Bloom see it? She is blind." Father crossed his arms.

Bloom's Pov

King Erendor was obviously still annoyed by the fact that King Terran's castle is on his land, but this was getting a bit ridiculous.

"I can see slightly through my Dragon eye." I lifted the chain with the rainbow jewel and pointed it in front of me. I felt it activate and saw the golden seal before me.

Something in my head clicked and I recognized the familiar swirl and cross. "_Armor."_ The word popped into my head. I felt that it wasn't the right keyword, but I also could make out _Eraklyon_from the seal as well.

"So, what does it say?" Erendor asked harshly.

"It could mean two things… But, one second." I moved closer to the seal and lightly touched the golden grooves.

Just as I thought, there was a memory embedded into the seal.

"_What is the actual password for the seal?"_A voice asked.

"_Supposedly, it is the title and name of the guardian."_Another voice, much older than the first said.

"_What is the name and title of the guardian?"_

"_No one knows. It sealed itself into the keep thousands and thousands of years ago."_

"Bloom? Bloom, are you okay?" Sky shook my shoulders, snapping me out of the vision.

"Sky, I'm fine." I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes.

"What happened there?" He asked.

"A memory was implanted into the seal. I know what the password is now." I stepped closer to the seal again and took a deep breath.

"Bloom, what are you…" Sky trailed off as I sent a burst of energy into the seal.

"Eraklyon, Dragon of Armor." I said strongly.

For a moment, nothing happened. And then the seal began to hum. My dragon eye was still activated, so I could see the entire wall move around the seal. Intricate patterns stretched from the seal, crossing the walls and the floor. All of us stepped back as the seal disappeared and the wall parted to reveal a tunnel.

Suddenly, I sensed it again. I whipped around in surprise, but then there was a loud blast. I felt myself get blown back into the wall. I hit my head against the stone, and my ears began to ring. My dragon eye hadn't faded out yet, but dust clouded my view. While I was still trying to gather myself from hitting my head, I felt the presence move over me.

As the dust cleared a bit, I could finally see the person who has been setting me on edge ever since I first encountered her. She had glowing, violet eyes and long, black hair. I had never seen such an intense stare before. It was as if she was staring into my soul as she loomed over me.

I wasn't afraid, but for whatever reason, I couldn't move. My body just wouldn't respond to me, and having someone literally stand over me was a bit strange. What was even stranger was the fact that before, I feared this woman, but now… I felt almost relaxed. Of course I was put off by her standing over me and my inability to move, but for whatever reason, it felt almost relaxing having her so close to me.

"Leave her be." A deep voice said sharply. "You will fight her soon, but not now. We need to get the dragon orb first."

_Dragon orb? What's that?_ I thought to myself.

A snarl escaped the woman's throat. A deep, animal like snarl that seemed to reawaken my body. I sat up quickly and opened my mouth. "Dragon's breath!" I shouted as fire spilled out of my mouth, hitting the woman dead in the face.

Quicker than I could react, the woman jumped backwards, trying to protect her face with one arm while striking out at me with her other. She caught my temple, and since my head was already sore from hitting solid rock, I was easily knocked out.

_Bloom…_

My eyes shot open at the sound of the silver dragon's voice. I was greeted with a disturbing sight.

"_What the- where are we?!"_I asked as I stared out over the wasteland.

_Glacial, thousands of years ago. You heard of how the humans who once lived here rebelled against the great dragon, and that she wiped them out to protect the rest of the universe?_

"_Yeah…"_I was worried about where this was going.

_This was the outcome. She rid Glacial of humans, but had to destroy most of the world. This is the future of Eraklyon unless you can calm the guardian. He has been watching everything unfold from his Keep and is furious at the greed of the humans inhabiting his planet._

"_What do I need to do?"_There is no way that I can let this happen.

_Remember mercy, understanding, and the bane of all…_

I felt myself begin to wake up._"Wait, no! Tell me more!"_

_Remember…_

I jolted awake and realized I was being carried by someone. Starting to panic, I began to thrash about, trying to wiggle my way out of the person's arms.

"Wait, Bloom, it's me!" I immediately stopped at the sound of Sky's voice. "There, that's better. We are heading onto a ship to get out of here. Those people awoke the guardian, who ended up being a dragon covered in golden armor. It is furious and is currently destroying everything in its path."

"Sky, wait!" I Struggled in his arms again, forcing him to put me down. "I need to go to the guardian."

"What in the name of the Great Dragon do you think you are going to do about that monstrosity?" A familiar voice brought my blood to an instant boil. _What in the world is Diaspro doing here?_

"I have to stop him. If I don't, Eraklyon is going to become another Glacial." I said bluntly.

"She is correct." Terran's old voice reached my ears. "Glacial was rid of humans thousands of years ago by the Great Dragon, and now her son is about to rid his planet of humans. History is going to repeat itself."

"And what makes you think we would let that happen?" Erendor's voice boomed angrily, scaring me out of my wits as I didn't know he was near.

"Did you not hear my grandfather correctly? Eraklyon is the son of the Great Dragon, the god of this realm. What makes you think your armies stand a chance against a deity?" Quake sneered. "Bloom is your only hope. She alone has the raw power to stop Eraklyon."

"And how on earth is she supposed to do that?" Diaspro shot back.

"With all of our help." Sky proclaimed. "Since you're blind, we can have a ship get you close to the dragon while our other ships distract it. Mink can tag along, and once we are close enough, drop you off to do your thing."

"And what would that 'thing' be, exactly?" Erendor asked.

"I am going to try and convince him that humans aren't all greedy and selfish." I replied.

"What makes you think he thinks that?" I think Diaspro was just arguing for the sake of arguing at this point.

"Because look at this mess! A rebellion because of what? People can't stand the thought of Sky being king? He probably knows the cause of this mess better than me, but he has been watching all of you from his Keep the ENTIRE TIME, and he is sick of the fighting, just like everyone else."

"I couldn't agree more." Terran murmured. "Why even have a kingdom if its subjects kill each other in rebellions? The land dragons shall aid you. We will stop the guardian, united as dragons and humans once fought!"

I could hear a few cheers around us and chanting for Erendor to join in.

"…Fine, we shall fight as one." The King of Eraklyon sighed.

"For Eraklyon!" A chorus of both dragon roars and human shouts erupted. _How many people are here?!_


	25. War of Eraklyon

War of Eraklyon

The plan sounded simple enough. Sky, Erendor, Fritz, Mink, a few guards, and I were taking a smaller ship to get close to the Guardian Dragon while the army took several other ships to distract the raging dragon.

I felt strangely calm going into this fight. I wasn't anxious, nervous, or even excited to help stop the guardian. The only feeling that I could truly name was disappointment. I have no idea what I am disappointed with, but I know the feeling too well to dispute it.

Guided by Leaf and Sky, we boarded the ship that was to take us to the middle of the battle. I could sense Sky's anxiousness. His tight grip and sweaty palm told all. I felt bad for making him worry, but this was something I had to do. Something that I felt might change everything.

"Bloom, don't worry. I'll be right by your side the entire time." Sky tried to sound reassuring, but failed miserably at it.

I reached out my free hand, which he gently took hold of and helped me find his cheek. I moved towards my hand and kissed the side of his face. _If only that were true._

I have formed my own plan to fight the guardian. As soon as we were close enough, I planned to abandon the ship and use my own dragon to fight the guardian. After all, my dragon was the 'mother' of Eraklyon. I think sensing the presence of the dragon flame will do something in regards of stopping Eraklyon's rage.

Sky took his position on the ship, captian as usual, and Mink's voice entered my head.

"_I am ready when you are." _I relayed his message to the others and Sky began the takeoff checklist. Engines, power core, radar, and all of the usual things that I really don't care about. I can fly a ship with ease, but I never thought of memorizing all of the names of the parts, and I didn't care to learn them now.

I could feel the floor shift under my feet and assumed that we had taken off without a hitch. I activated my dragons eye and held it out to the window. Just as we rose above the trees and hills that covered Eraklyon, I finally saw what I was getting myself into.

Eraklyon was a massive beast covered in golden armor. The little skin that was shown was a dark mahogany and wrinkled like an old prune. Bright red eyes shone through the eye slits of the dragon's helm and saliva dripped from his gaping mouth.

"If circumstances were better, I would have been honored to rule a planet in the guardian's name." Sky muttered.

"It isn't his fault." I said without thinking.

Even if I couldn't exactly see everyone on the ship at one time, I felt all of their eyes on me.

"He is angry, and I think he is under the influence of dark magic." My thoughts flashed back on the woman with the dark presence.

She puzzled me even more now than before. At first, I feared her dark powers. Something about them was hauntingly familiar and dangerous that I couldn't help but be wary in its presence. When I was face to face before, that familiarity was still there, but not the sense of danger. Something about her darkness felt natural and almost calming when she was close to me, but now… I feel a hole in myself. I now missed her presence and felt like I would do anything to feel it again, even for just a single second.

I can't focus on that now, though. Right now, I need to prepare my dragon for battle. A battle that seemed to be getting worse and worse by the second. Eraklyon wasn't just winning, he was dominating the battlefield. Just one of his massive feet could wipe out at least a hundred men and dragons. His fire swept across leagues of land, eviscerating trees, grasses, and any other living thing it touched.

Something ignited within my chest, and I was thrown back to a dream I once had. I was floating in nothing, but then, a great dragon appeared. A dragon whose eye was as big as my entire body. An eye with a rainbow hue and a powerful gaze that was burned into my memory.

"_Ready."_ A voice I had never heard before echoed through my head. Not knowing what exactly it meant by ready, I replied.

"_For what?" _

The voice didn't return, but it felt like my power was swelling inside me. The great dragon's fire burned hot within me and threatened to free itself at any moment, but I held it down. I knew what I needed to do. Remembering the Silver Dragon's words, I felt my confidence in my plan grow.

Suddenly, I sensed something. I turned to where I felt the presence and stared in awe at the sight. The Sky palace had teleported and was now hanging over the mountain above the Earth palace. Another presence emerged in the back of my mind and I saw the Sea palace rise form a lake nearby.

"Enti and Abyss have come to help!" Leaf squeaked with excitement.

"Sky, the rest of the dragon rulers have come to help. We might be able to overwhelm him!" Just as the words left my mouth, I knew they weren't true. The sky dragons alone might have a chance of out maneuvering the guardian, but the sea dragons were at a major disadvantage. Only the dragons with wings would stand a chance getting close and evading Eraklyon's wrath.

"_Mink, can you call Enti?" _I asked the wyvern.

"_I am way ahead of you. Terran is calling back his troops so the Sky dragons can take over. They are faster and have better chances of surviving the Guardian's attacks." _

"_Good. When do you think they will reach Eraklyon?"_

"_Within the next five minutes."_

I turned towards the Sky palace just in time to see countless dragons pouring out of every doorway. All of them dropping out of the palace then catching the wind to take very specific formations and distinctive groups.

"Sky, the winged dragons are going to take over."

"Good. We are getting decimated on the ground. The ships are faring better, so the dragons that actually have wings will help a lot." Sky replied. He picked up the radio and relayed a message to all of the troops informing them of the reinforcements. Cheers were heard through the static as the dragons raced past retreating ships and ground soldiers. A familiar black dragon slowed and moved beside us.

"_Thanatos?!" _I cried, placing my hands on the glass.

"_It has been too long, Bloom. We have come to help." _He moved slightly, allowing me to see Basalt, River, and Moorhen flying right next to him.

"Everyone, get ready. We'll be in the midst of the fight in less than a minute." Sky announced.

It felt like a stone formed in my belly. This was it. This was probably the only shot we had of defeating Eraklyon.

I took a deep breath and headed towards the back of the ship. Sky would call me over the radio when it was time for me to head out.

"Are you sure you are ready?" Leaf asked as we waited. I could feel the ship dodge and maneuver around dragons and possibly other ships.

I wanted to say no, that I wasn't ready, but I nodded my head instead.

"Bloom, it's now or never!" Sky basically yelled over the radio.

Having served its purpose, I tossed the radio aside and opened the bay doors normally used to allow hoverbikes to land. I stood at the very edge of the platform, took a deep breath, and fell out of the ship.

I fell for all of five seconds before Mink caught me. I held on tightly to his golden spines and laid flat on his back. Everything was going perfectly, but then things went wrong. Very, very wrong.

I felt his gaze burn through me. Eraklyon had sensed my presence and was now glaring straight at us. The air shifted as the guardian sucked air into his massive mouth.

"Mink, run!" I screamed, sensing something dangerous was about to happen.

He didn't have to be told twice. Mink snapped his wings in, dropping like a stone seconds before a powerful beam split the air above us, right where we once were. A loud boom drowned out all sound and I turned the dragon eye to see that the beam had blown a hole right through a far way mountain.

"By the great dragon." Mink breathed as we stared at the mountain for a moment. Then, the air shifted again. Both of us knew what was about to happen this time, so Mink took off. Mink might be a fast flyer, but both of us knew he couldn't outrun something like that. Thanatos knew it too.

"_Bloom, come to me! I will take you the rest of the way." _Thana called from underneath us.

"Thank you, Mink." I kissed his head and jumped off of his back, landing squarely in between the black dragon's shoulders.

Mink immediately retreated as Thanatos descended, picking up tremendous speed as Eraklyon finished charging his beam. Just as the guardian let loose, Thanatos snapped his wing forwards, catching the wind and sending us rocketing upwards once again, easily avoiding the beam.

"He has noticed my power!" I called down to Thanatos. "He know I want to stop him!"

"_Then let us use that to our advantage. The best flyers in the kingdom are here, we will exhaust his power with our speed." _

Thanatos let out a roar, summoning several dragons with large wings to his side. I explained the plan, and all of the others roared in agreement. With the ease of a master flyer, Thanatos and the others easily out maneuvered all of Eraklyon's attacks. Once Thanatos tired out, I jumped off of his back onto another dragon.

"_I am Grass whistle, are you ready to fly fast?_ The dragon asked.

Her voice was light and sweet, not something you would expect from a dragon soldier. "Let's see what you can do!"

Grass whistle was faster than I thought. Easily moving far ahead of the other dragons, practically laughing when Eraklyon tried to knock us out of the sky, all the while putting on quite the spectacle.

Finally, after ducking and dodging for well over half an hour which was pushing my dragon eye way beyond it's limits, I was close enough to set my own plan into action.

"_Grass whistle, I need you to trust me completely." _I began.

"_Of course. I would trust the keeper of the dragon fire with my life." _

"_I need you to get all of the other dragon and soldiers to retreat. You and the other fast flyers included. I can handle the rest." _

I sensed her hesitation, but she did as I asked, sending out a roar that nearly matched Eraklyon's in loudness. All of the other dragons heard and reluctantly turned away. Once I was sure everyone was at a safe distance, I jumped off of Grass whistle's back.

As I fell, I felt the swell of power burst from my chest, swirling around my body. The power quickly materialized into the form of my dragon, and I landed on its head. Just as I exerted power, I felt even more swell in my body. It felt like the dragon fire itself was against the guardian dragon.

At that moment, the dragon eye stopped working. _No, not now!_

"_Use my eyes." _There was that voice again.

Having no other choice, I allowed my power to sweep over my body. Washing over me and feeling the pure heat engulf me. I closed my eyes for a second, then opened them again, and I could see!

With my dragon, we circled Eraklyon several times before flying high above him. I knew what I needed to do. Eraklyon turned his head towards us and readied his beam. I fell off of my dragon's head, falling straight towards the guardian's gaping mouth, the only part what wasn't heavily armored.

I focused all of the power in me to my hands and called out my ultimate spell. "DRAGON'S BANE!"

* * *

Okay, so I am gonna branch off from the norm, and ask for your help, specifically with my characters.

I want to write better characters in all of my stories, and need your help to do it. So, when/if you have the time, please write a comment about your favorite character(s), least favorite character(s), why, what you think I could do better, how you interpret the character, and any other comments you have about the story in general.

I would really appreciate the help and if you do, I'll shout you out in the next chapter( if you are a guest… I'll figure something out).

-Echo


	26. Truth of Eraklyon

Truth of Eraklyon

Sky's Pov

I watched in horror as Bloom fell into the Guardian's gaping mouth. The dragons had all retreated from the guardian, and the ships backed off, but I don't think any distance would have saved us from the impact of whatever spell Bloom used.

As soon as she disappeared between Eraklyon's teeth, there was a flash of light, and a rush of fire branched out in all directions. Just as the light dimmed, a massive dragon formed from the flames and literally swallowed the gigantic guardian. Eraklyon's scream ripped through the air as everything but his golden armor was disintegrated.

"By the great dragon…" My father breathed.

The armor crashed to the ground and ash covered the golden plates. There was no way anything, let alone Bloom could survive such a thing… Bloom died to save us all.

Bloom's Pov

A low rumbling roused me from my sleep. I don't even remember falling asleep, but something deep inside me told me it was okay to continue sleeping. I sighed, turned over on my side, and felt my forehead brush up against something soft.

I opened my eyes just a bit and stared into the golden eyes of Eraklyon. I was surprised, but I was too tired to do anything, let alone move away from him.

We continued to stare at each other, as we simply lied there. His warm breath causing my hair to ripple. After a while, I reached my arm out to him, and he reached his foreleg out as well. As soon as we touched, I felt more alert. His body radiated with energy that seemed to flow into me. I was tempted to pull away, but his golden eyes seemed to suck me into their depths.

"_I have been waiting for you…"_Eraklyon finally spoke_. "I am so glad you have finally come."_

"_How do you know me?"_

"_I would never forget my mother, nor would I not recognize her in her next life."_

"_What? Are you saying…"_

"_Yes. You are the reincarnation of the great dragon herself."_

"_But I wasn't born with her power! I was given it when I was little."_

"_You were born with her in you. She separated from her dragon flame so the magical dimension could live on without her, but the universe helped it find its way back to you."_

"_So, what does that make me? Just her second life?"_

"_No, you are Princess Bloom of Domino, wielder of the Dragon flame, and heir to the dragon throne. The great dragon, Inferno, is not you. You are two sides of the same coin, but still unique."_

I still felt weird knowing I was a reincarnation, but there was something I really wanted to ask.

"_Why are you trying to destroy your planet?"_

"_Because of the humans inhabiting my lands."_

"_But not all of them are bad! You can't just kill everyone because a few people are bad."_

"_I have killed no one. I have simply relocated them and wiped their memories, just as Inferno did with Glacial."_

"_Wait, so the great dragon didn't kill all those people?"_

"_No, she did not. I am so sick of watching humans fight over a simple throne. I am sick of humans displacing thousands who are caught between conflicts. I am tired of hearing the people I was trusted with die for no reason at all!"_

I could feel his anger radiate through me in waves. I could understand his feelings. On Earth, the news was filled with person after person robbing, killing, cheating, or some other horrible act. It was so bad that I became desensitized to it.

Eraklyon cringed as I placed my hand on his cheek. _"You don't have to do this. Come out of your keep. Involve yourself. Help stop what you can't stand on this world. You don't always have to break things down to start over again."_

I sat up and looked around. Only then did I realize that we were seemingly floating in space.

"_Where are we?"_I asked.

"_This was our home. My siblings and I were born here, just as my mother was born here. This was the beginning of Magix, and it might be its end."_

"_What do you mean its end?"_I turned back to Eraklyon as he stood up.

"_A dark force is coming. A force not too different from your own. It is coming not to be friendly, but to destroy what the Great dragon made, and all that can stand in its way is you."_

"_Oh! Do you mean that woman that has a strange presence?"_

"_No, another force. You will meet that one before this force."_

"_Well, what am I supposed to do?"_

"_You must travel to the other six planets with living guardians. They are the oldest planets in this dimension and live in secret on their worlds. Find them, earn their blessing, and gain their dragon orbs. Once you have collected them all, you will be ready to face the woman. Only after you defeat her will you be able to face and defeat this force."_

Eraklyon balled his fist and a golden glow emanated between his claws. Once the glow had died down, he opened his palm and a golden orb rolled to me. I looked at the dragon, and he nodded his head.

Carefully, I picked up the orb, and an immense power resonated through my entire being. I gasped as the orb levitated out of my hands and then disappeared into my chest.

"_I, Eraklyon, Guardian Dragon of Armor, grant you my power. May it light your way in your darkest hour, and defend you from harm. I give you all that is me, and all that will ever be, in the realm of this planet."_

Once he finished, I felt something reverberate inside me, and Eraklyon began to glow.

"_I have considered your words, and have made a decision. Now, let us return before we are missed."_

Eraklyon knelt down and placed his clawed paw before me. I climbed up and made my way to his back. Just as I settled down, a light consumed us. A familiar warmth surrounded me as he teleported us back to Eraklyon.

I closed my eyes to block out the light, and when I opened them again, I was still sitting on Eraklyon's back, but the scenery had changed back to the battlefield. Once I saw the destroyed plain, I realized something had changed.

The extraordinary power was gone, so my vision should have dissipated as well… What changed?

"_Everything has changed, Bloom."_I immediately recognized the voice from before. The one that gave me the power to see. _"I cannot speak for long, but I healed your vision. Our vision."_

"_I- I don't know what to say… Thank you."_

The voice didn't return. Tears fell from my healed eyes as Eraklyon lowered himself to the ground. A single ship was near us, and I immediately recognized the blonde prince standing next to the craft.

"Bloom?!" Sky ran towards us.

"Sky!" I jumped and levitated my body back down to the ground. As soon as he reached me, he grabbed my waist and swung me in a circle. Once he put me down, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. I couldn't even begin to describe how good it was to see him.

"Bloom, we need to get out of here before Eraklyon-"

"Before I what? Kill you?" Eraklyon cut Sky off. "Crown prince, I have no desire to kill anything. I do have a desire to end a certain war, though."

"But, then what was all this about?!" Sky beckoned to the devastated landscape.

"Bloom has convinced me to take another route to ending this conflict, and all possible ones. Besides, this is an easy fix for a son of Inferno."

A feint glow emanated between Eraklyon's jaws, and a light blue fire spread over the damaged land, returning everything as is was.

"Amazing…" Erendor breathed.

"Now, come. Your enemy is locked in my keep. It is time we confronted the man behind this mess."

Instead of climbing Eraklyon's massive body again, I followed Sky and Erendor back onto the ship. We watched as the guardian spread his wings, and followed him back to the Keep. When we arrived, I was surprised to see the seal was closed.

Eraklyon's eyes began to glow, and the seal seemed to respond to his presence, The Keep opened up and we slowly followed Eraklyon in.

There, I was greeted with a familiar sight. Mounds of gold and jewels and several banners with the Eraklyon seal and crest. This was the place the Silver Dragon showed me in my dream! And in the very back of the room, chained to a pillar, was three men.

"The youngest was trying to claim the crown of Eraklyon. The other two are his 'advisors'." Eraklyon explained.

Sky and I gasped as one of the advisors raised his head.

"Argus?! Why- but what… What are you doing here?" Sky asked after the initial shock wore off.

"Because." He said bluntly, obviously not wanting to say his real reasons.

A golden aura enveloped the younger man, and he phased through the chains and was carried before us.

"Now, since you are so adamant to have me decide which of you two should be the next King of my planet, state your names, titles, and impress me." Eraklyon settled down and crossed his forelimbs, obviously annoyed at the entire situation.

"My name is Sky, crown prince of Eraklyon and son of King Erendor of Eraklyon. I was raised to take the crown, so I have been taught how to run a kingdom."

"I am Darrion of Eraklyon, my ancestor was once a true king of Eraklyon, but then was murdered because of the prince's ancestor. My family was robbed of the throne, and I know much about politics and even was in the royal guard for several years." The young man was determined, I'll give him that.

"I am far too old to do this. Politics and fighting knowledge are not the only traits of a good king. You will have to do better." Eraklyon grumbled and rested his head on the ground.

"Umm, I am training to be a hero at Red fountain, I am engaged to Princess Bloom, and…" Sky looked to me for help, but I just shrugged.

"I trained as a paladin for years before the prince was allowed to. Also, did you not hear my family was robbed of the throne?!" Darrion was obviously getting annoyed, and so was Eraklyon.

"I heard you, but I do not care. I chose your ancestor, yes, but he was the last one before I decided to leave the throne choosing to the King. It was not my fault that someone was not pleased with him. It was not my fault that the people chose a king that time around. Now, you can either suck it up and deal with something that never even affected you or even your generation, or continue to cry like a spoiled child and get on my nerves." Eraklyon snapped.

I would kill to have a photo of the face that guy made.

"I am tired of hearing the two of you. It is time to settle this the old fashion way." The guardian stood up and the golden glow surrounded both Sky and Darrion. Eraklyon took a deep breath, and then spewed golden flames over the two. All four of us shouted in surprise, but the flames only lasted for a second. Both Sky and Darrion were lowered to the ground, but only Sky still had the golden glow.

"The dragon flame within me chose Sky as the first true king in centuries. This dispute is over, and if you continue to complain and fight against this judgment, I will leave no one on this planet when I am finished with it."

The chains wrapped around Argus and the other man disappeared and all three immediately ran from the Keep. I gave Sky a big hug and kiss, and Erendor placed his hand on Sky's shoulder.

"I cannot thank you enough for choosing Sky. We will spread the word that a true king was chosen by you as soon as we get back." Erendor smiled up at Eraklyon.

"Don't thank me. If Sky wasn't worthy, he would have been eviscerated." He mumbled, lying back down again.

"But wait, Darrion wasn't eviscerated." I said.

"Both were worthy. A true king is dictated by their past triumphs and falls, their character, and their willingness to work for their people rather than themselves. Both had good character, decent pasts, and have the traits of former kings that were slaves to the people, but Sky has my favor."

"I do? Wait, what did I do?" Sky asked.

"You saved the new life of my mother. I can never thank you enough for saving her as many times as you have." I smiled at his answer. "Also, the boy was a spoiled puppet. There was no way I could let a puppet rule a planet."

I smiled again and the three of us left the Keep.

Thankfully, Eraklyon didn't have to follow through with his promise of killing everyone because once word spread that Sky was chosen as a true king, the rebellion all but disappeared. Sure there was one or two more fights, and there is always going to be those few people that will still argue for Darrion, but things are definitely better than before.

After I got the girls up to speed with what happened and what was coming, we all agreed that finding the dragon orbs was top priority, but finding where to start will be a little difficult since none of us know what guardians are alive except for Eraklyon, Nyemaane, and Sola.

It's probably gonna be a bit of a rough start, but I am sure the six of us will be able to find them, and then take down these two mysterious forces.


	27. Thank You

Thank you

I want to thank each and every one of you for reading this story. It was my second story ever, and while it might have taken almost a complete year to finish, I am fairly happy with it. Sure future me might re-write just to polish things up (especially with the last few chapters) but still. I am so glad that I began to write it because it has taught me a TON.

When I first started writing fanfictions, I was simply doing it for fun, but I have now found how much I like building stories and worlds from my ideas for others to enjoy. It might be a bit rough planning things out and actually getting the story down on paper (or computer), but the end result has always been worth it.

I really want to thank everyone who ever liked, favorited, and or commented on this story because your support has been amazingly positive and I can't even begin to describe how much that means to me.

Okay, so just to keep you guys up to date, I am taking a bit of a break from Dragon Soul to maybe finish some other stories that I kind of left behind. I was stupid starting so many stories at once and have learned my lesson. So from now on, I will only bite off as much as I can chew.

Also, once I am ready to fully start Dragon Soul 2: Dragon Orb, I will put up a notice on this story to give everyone who followed the story a heads up.

Final thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I shall see you guys soon!

-EchowolfS


	28. Dragon Soul 2: Guardians

So, how's it going? I know it's been a while and I still haven't worked on my other stories, but meh. I like dragon soul and want to keep working on it. I can't wait to get back into this as Bloom and her friends work together again to save Magix, and learn more about the Great Dragon, Inferno.

Well, so there's been a slight change to the title of the next part. It shall be called….

Dragon Soul 2: Guardians

Instead of dragon orb.

So here's the heads up, and I am super excited for this, because this is where the real story begins.

Not even a month has passed from the battle of Eraklyon. Magix is once again at peace, or so it seems. A dark force is building strength, and Bloom is feeling its pull. Along with her friends, she must find the surviving Guardian Dragons and gain their power to rival a new evil that threatens to put everything in darkness.


End file.
